Raising a Nin-Wizard
by AJ Van Writ-101
Summary: He was four when he asked about his family. He was five when he asked about his scar. He was six when he asked how his parents died. And he was seven when he asked how in the Five Nations he managed to turn his sensei's hair blue. {NaruHina, SasuSaku} Some diversions from Naruto Canon! Major diversions from Harry Potter Canon!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I, AJ, do hereby swear on my life and magic that the properties of Harry Potter and Naruto do not belong to me, so mote it be.

**NOTE:** Naruto diverges from Canon during the Fourth Great War - Neji lives (because is said so, so there), Sasuke returns to the village (under guard, they weren't that stupid), and anything to do with Boruto is ignored (except a few Easter eggs if I feel generous).

Harry Potter diverges from Canon (duh) after the October 31st, 1991 (and, yes, I have bumped up the timeline by ten years... why? Because I can).

**Update:** I apologize to my followers. I am on a temporary Hiatus due to burnout. This story will be completed, seeing as I have the entire outline mapped and ready to go. I just needed to take a step back for a while, especially with all the craziness that is going on in the world right now (as of August 2020). I decided to take some time to go through and polish up what I've already written, and hopefully that will get the creativity sparked again.

* * *

Haru was a mere four years old when he noticed a discrepancy in his life. There was something fundamentally different between himself and his best friend. Walking home from the park hand-in-hand with one of his uncles, the young boy posed his observation.

"Na'to-jichan? Shun-chan haf Tou-chan an' Kaa-chan. I haf Tou-chan an' Kaa-chan?"

The man beside him paused in his steps for the briefest second, and Haru saw a strange look pass over his face. It was gone in an instant and quickly forgotten when he was swooped up into his uncle's arms. Peels of childish laughter rang in the evening streets. For a few moments all was right in the world.

"Ji-chan!" the boy demanded once the giggles died down. "I haf Tou-chan an' Kaa-chan too?"

Blond hair covered blue eyes as the man sighed. At last he said, "No, Haru-chan, you don't have a Tou-chan or a Kaa-chan."

"Why?"

"Some people just don't have parents to take care of them; it happens. I don't have any parents either. But instead of a Tou-chan and Kaa-chan you have two awesome Ji-san and two amazing Ba-san, ne? Dattebayo!"**1**

"Ee!"**2**

"And you have your baby cousin Hikari-chan, and soon you're going to have two more little cousins to spoil and play with as well."

"Ee! Ano, Ji-chan? Whe'e babies fwom?"

"Looks like we're home! Go get cleaned up for dinner, 'tebayo!"

* * *

Haru ran home as fast as his little five-year-old legs could carry him. Considering he was entering his second week at the Academy, and had to keep up with all his classmates who were a full two years older than him, it was a decent pace. He had a burning question that he was sure his aunt could answer. After all, she fixed up all his owies, she would surely know about this one.

"Sakura-basan!"

"Quiet, Haru-kun," the pinkette woman scolded, leaning over a pile of laundry, "I just put your cousin down for a nap; kami knows that child doesn't like to stay down for more than a few minutes."

"Sorry, Ba-san," Haru said into his hands. "I didn't mean to wake up Hika-chan."

"It's alright, Haru-kun, I think she's still asleep. What did you need?"

"Oh! Hirio-sensei was talking about the Wars, and then Riju-kun asked if he had ever been in one, and then he said he did, and then Kotone-chan asked if he got a scar from it, 'cause her Tou-san has a big scar on his shoulder from the Fourth War, an' Hirio-sensei said that he has a scar on his back, an' then he showed it to us, an', an', an' it was really scary, Ba-san, it looked like a big bug with lots 'n' lots of legs, an' then Hirio-sensei said that almost e'er'one in the village has scars from the Wars, an' I have a scar, but I weren't in a war, an', an' do you know how I got it?"

The young woman had been patiently nodding along to the rushed and wandering story while folding the clothes. However, at the mention of the zigzag blemish on the child's forehead, her hands stilled for a brief moment. She very deliberately did not turn her eyes towards the boy, even when he untied his headband to display the mark.

"Ba-san?" Haru asked, not missing the slip.

"You were… the victim of a powerful jutsu when you were only a year old. It was nothing like I had dealt with before so I was unable to prevent the scarring. That was the first wound I healed on you, and you've just been adding to the number ever since; one of these days I'll leave you to deal with it." Her attempt to tease fell short as she turned to face him and her eyes fixated on the innocuous mark she had left behind.

Haru laughed. "Silly Ba-san. You'll always heal me!"

"Always," she agreed. Haru didn't protest too much to the too-tight hug he was pulled into just then. His aunts and uncles warned him that the Academy and life afterwards would strip away his innocence and naivete, so it couldn't hurt too much to just accept what his aunt was saying while he still could.

* * *

Haru was six when he mustered up the courage to approach his official guardian about a very important matter. He stood in the doorway of the man's study, focusing on not scuffing his feet on the floor or wringing his fingers.

"Sasuke-ojisan?"

"Come in, Haru-kun," the man said without looking up from his work. The boy padded to the man's side and waited quietly as he finished what he was writing and set his pen down.

"I have a question, Oji-san."

"Ee, I thought as much."

"It's about… about my parents." The man's face was unreadable. "Did you know them?" the boy asked.

"No, not personally."

"Oh. Do you… know what happened to them? Why they left me?"

Haru was shocked when his stoic uncle scooped him up and settled him on the man's lap. The boy instantly buried himself into the embrace, such displays of affection being few and far between.

"I didn't know them myself, but I know this: your parents loved you, Haru-kun. Despite being civilians they bravely stood between you and a madman attempting to kill you. You are alive, and here with me today, because your parents loved you more than their own lives."

For the first time that he could remember, Haru wept for two people he didn't know or have any memory of. His uncle held him the whole while, unconcerned that his shirt was slowly soaking through or that his feet were starting to go numb. He held him while the boy alternately cursed the madman for murdering his parents, his parents for leaving him alone, and himself for being the reason they would not save themselves. He held him while the boy questioned the heavens for an answer why he couldn't know his birth family. Finally, when all the tears were used up, Haru fell asleep on his uncle's arm,**3** safe in the knowledge that he was loved.

* * *

Haru was seven when his world stopped making sense. His emerald eyes darted between the startled look on his aunt's face and the livid one on his substitute teacher. The second wasn't nearly as frightening as it should have been due to the glorious mop of cerulean hair sitting on top of it.

"Haru-kun," said the soft-spoken woman, "please explain yourself."

"But, Hinata-obachan, I didn't do it! I was sitting at my desk the whole time. How could I have turned Bakato-sensei's hair blue?"

"Manners, Haru-kun."

"Sorry. I couldn't have turned _Kato_-sensei's hair blue."**4**

"Liar!" Kato all but screeched. "Evil little brat! You were glaring at me the whole class, and you laughed when you dyed my hair!"

"Everyone was glaring at you, Bakato-teme!**5** And everyone laughed, too!"

"Manners, Haru-kun. Kato-san, I would ask you to kindly never call my nephew evil ever again. Haru-kun is many things, a prankster included, but he is not evil."

"I want an apology and restitution," the substitute demanded, "Or I'm going to the Academy Board about this!"

"That will not be necessary," the young woman soothed. She turned her lavender eyes on the boy beside her. "Haru-kun, apologize."

"But, Hinata-obachan!"

"Please, Haru-kun. You are already in trouble for pranking during class time and blatant disrespect, do not add disobedience to the list."

"I didn't do it! I'm not saying sorry for something I didn't do!"

"Very well." The woman turned and gave as low of a bow to the teacher as her belly allowed. "Kato-san, I apologize on my nephew's behalf. Such an act will not happen again. You may speak to my husband about receiving the proper amount to return yourself to normal again."

Kato crossed his arms, but nodded anyway, as though he were doing the Hokage's wife a favor by accepting her apology. Haru watched on with shock, horror, and a bubbling well of anger that was slowly making its way to the surface.

"Oba-chan..."

"Haru-kun, let's go." The woman steered the boy in the direction of their home. His feet felt wooden as he trudged along beside her.

"Oba-chan, you shouldn't've had to apologize. I shouldn't've either!"

"Now is not the time. We will discuss this when we get home."

"I'm not a liar!"

"We will discuss this when we get home." Her words were tipped in sharpened steel.

Haru snarled. "There's nothing to discuss. You're a traitor. I hate you!" The boy ran, ignorant of the shattered glass windows in his wake.

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

Ba-san (-basan) and Oba-chan (-obachan) are two different ways of saying "Aunt"; a very literal translation would be Ba-san = Aunt, and Oba-chan = Dear Auntie

Ji-chan (-jichan) and Oji-san (-ojisan) are two different ways of saying "Uncle"; a very literal translation would be Ji-chan = Unkie, and Oji-san = Dear Uncle

Tou-chan is one way of saying "Daddy"

Kaa-chan is one way of saying "Mommy"

Sensei (-sensei) is the proper way to address a teacher/professor or a doctor; notice that Hinata never uses this to address Kato (using -san instead), in a very subtle dig at his credibility as a teacher

**1:** Dattebayo and 'tebayo are both verbal tics of Naruto's, they have no meaning (though have been translated as "believe it" and "ya know")

**2:** Ee is one way of saying "yes" and is pronounced "aay"

**3:** This is not a typo, Sasuke only has one arm (same with Naruto), however he will wear a prosthetic if he leaves the village on a mission

**4:** Baka is an insult roughly translating to "idiot" or "moron"; Haru added it to his teacher's name to mock him (the same way you might call someone named Morgan "Morongan" or Stacy "Spacey" [p.s. don't call names, it's mean])

**5:** Teme literally translates to "you", but it has extremely rude connotations (like saying B*****d or B***h); if you call someone "teme" you are asking for a fight


	2. Chapter 1: Naruto can be Responsible?

**Note:** This chapter was going to be very long (over 4,400 words), but none of my other chapters are shaping up to be that big, so I cut this one in half.

* * *

November 1991

Naruto's senses alerted him to another's presence a half-second before a familiar rhythm was rapped on his windowpane. He sat up, hand wrapped around the hilt of a kunai,**1** and gave his full attention to the ANBU on the other side of the glass.

"Neko-san," the blond greeted while disabling the traps that would allow him to open the window safely. Once it was open the cat-masked shinobi handed him a tiny scroll with a black ribbon tying it shut.

"Hokage-sama summons you," Neko said.

Naruto accepted the scroll. "Understood." The ANBU shunshined away,**2** and Naruto closed the window.

The blond didn't have to open the scroll to know what was inside, but he did so anyway. As he expected the note was short and to the point: SS-class Mission, Hokage Tower, Urgent. The scroll burnt to dust as soon as he fed a little chakra into it; all scrolls colored red, purple, or black did in order to leave no chance of leaked Intel.**3**

He wasted no time in throwing on yesterday's pants and a clean shirt; his hitai-ate, Jonin jacket and Sage cloak completed his outfit. He was out the door in a silent blur less than three minutes after he was first woken.

The eastern-most edge of the sky was just starting to brighten from black to purple as Konoha's Savior raced over the rooftops. Except for the odd Jonin or ANBU on night watch, the village was completely devoid of people. Naruto had never done particularly well with silence.

'What do you think, Kurama?' he mentally asked. 'It's been a while since we had an SS-Rank Mission.'

A thoughtful rumble reverberated in his mind, 'If I recall, the last time it was allegations of White Zetsu being spotted in Wave.'

'Thankfully they were fakers preying on people's fear rather than the real deal,' Naruto said. There was a hum of agreement that felt more like a roll of thunder. 'It's almost a year since then, and over three since the War.'

'Don't tell me you're getting bored.'

Naruto restrained himself to only laughing in his mind. 'As if I could be with all the work Baa-chan keeps putting on me. I think she's trying to keep me busy.'

'Well, the last time you had a stretch of free time you swapped all her sake for prune juice,' the demon reminded him.

The young man groaned, 'I couldn't move without everything aching for a week afterwards. Hey! Is that…?'

Refocusing his senses on what had caught his attention Naruto again noticed a nearly imperceptible flash of pink, this time disappearing into the Hokage Tower. Grinning like the Kitsune he housed, the blond opened his senses to the natural chakra around him. He couldn't enter Sage Mode while running, but he could tell exactly who the two people standing in front of the Godaime were. With a shunshin Naruto appeared inside the office between, and just in front of, his most trusted nakama.

"Godaime Hokage-sama," Naruto greeted formally, going into a deep bow. His expanded senses picked up on the carefully hidden amusement from Tsunade, Sakura, and Sasuke, as well as the interest and approval from the unfamiliar person – the client – who stood beside Tsunade's desk. This was going to be fun.

In a desperate attempt by his team to make him at least give a favorable, if not professional, impression to their clientele, it had been suggested that Naruto view every mission as a prank. The goal was to make the clients believe he was a stoic, professional shinobi, and then blindside them at the end of the mission with his true personality. That had been a few years ago, and Naruto had not only found that whole premise hilarious but also discovered that he was a natural at acting and manipulation. It took very little effort to make someone believe what he wanted them to believe, and watching all of their preconceived notions about him crumble in the face of Konoha's Number One Most Hyperactive Knuckleheaded Ninja was a riot each and every time. If the client was impressed this early on in the meeting, he was going to be easy pickings.

"Naruto-taicho," Tsunade greeted back, mirth sparkling in her eyes. "Seal the room."

The command was to a pair of ANBU who never left the Hokage's side. They worked quickly to raise barrier-seals that would not allow anyone to enter or exit the office without express permission, nor would any sound, smell, or chakra be perceptible from the outside. Naruto could also guess that these seals were powerful enough to block Dojutsu that would otherwise have been able to see into the room. Such complete sealings were so chakra-consuming to prepare that they were only used in the absolute greatest of circumstances, and then only for a short time. Judging by the exhaustion hidden in Tsunade's face and aura, it was likely the barrier-seals had been put up earlier, and only taken down for the short period it took to summon the Nidaime Sannin.**4**

"We'll keep this brief," Tsunade said, "This is our client, Danburudoa Arubasu.**5** He is a man of prestige within a hidden society of Wizards living in the Outer Country of Ingurando. The full mission details are in this scroll, but what you need to know is that you are on a long term guard mission for a child that is most likely being targeted by a group of rogues from their society – their leader having presumably died in a recent attempt to take his life."

Oh, the irony. Naruto wanted desperately to look back at his nakama, just to see their reactions to hearing the story; granted they wouldn't show their thoughts so plainly in front of the client. The blond could feel their combined shock, anger, fear, sorrow, annoyance, understanding and resignation being carefully suppressed. He himself was hiding his own variety of emotions by mentally screaming them in a certain fox's direction – whose laughter was not helping the situation.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Naruto said, dutifully taking the thick scroll without his voice wavering. "The target?"

"Child," a voice corrected. The four shinobi looked over at the client, and Naruto had to fight with his facial muscles to not move. Growing up with Rock Lee, among other colorful characters, meant that Naruto had a high threshold for downright weird; this man was pushing that line. Looking past the obvious age – which put him at older than the Sandaime had he still been alive – there was Danburudoa's choice in attire: the atrocity of mismatched colors and patterns would have had Ino weeping. Then there was the juxtaposition of his aura.

Based solely on what Naruto felt, he would say the old man was Sandaime's peer in every way. He was a being of extreme power and authority, battle hardened, and optimistic about the future despite needing to make the tough decisions between the good of the one or the good of the group. The kooky, grandfatherly persona placed in front of that did little more than make it obvious – to a sensor of any caliber – that this was a man forced into a position where he was more an icon than a person. As long as Danburudoa existed in this fabricated bubble of pleasant smiles and wacky clothes, then all was right with the world and life would go on no matter how dark it got outside. A lonely position, as Naruto himself knew from experience.

Naruto nodded to the client with the deference the man was likely used to seeing. "The child?" he asked.

"Harry Potter… oh, pardon me, Potter Harry is right here," Danburudoa said, his accent off-putting and dialect atrocious. He grabbed seemingly empty air and pulled, revealing both a thin, shimmery cloth and an infant sleeping in the man's arms.

Naruto frowned, but quickly schooled his face; hopefully his little slip would be taken as surprise or confusion. In reality he was reassessing the aura of the client. It was mostly the same as before, but now that the Jonin was focusing he could tell that Danburudoa was forcibly pushing his presence outwards, masking the much weaker aura of the child. Said child's aura was unnaturally weak, but slowly replenishing – likely he had suffered a massive drain to his chakra system in whatever ordeal gave him that head wound. What troubled Naruto was the presence of the third aura; even weaker than the child's, a sinister, sickly, less-than-human… thing was latched onto Hari, and gaining itself back slowly as well.

As team captain, Naruto nodded to Sakura to take the infant. Not only was she the only one on the team who knew how to hold one, but he could tell she was twitchy to perform a full medical examination and heal the untreated gash. The pinkette stepped forward, but Danburudoa pulled back a little and held up a hand.

"Please," he said, voice and eyes desperate, "please, protect him. Harry is special."

Time to work some magic… could he use that phrase now that there were apparently so-called Wizards? "Danburudoa-san, trust Hari-chan with us. He will be as safe as our own children, and returned to you when the time is right," Naruto said, a gentle smile teasing his lips and softening his eyes – not enough to undermine his earlier professionalism, but enough to show that he was a sympathetic and trustworthy person.

The old coot nodded and finally relinquished the infant into Sakura's tender care. He bowed to the three Jonin, bowed to Tsunade, and walked to the door. The two ANBU allowed him passage through the wards, and with a small crack – like the snapping of a twig – the man's aura disappeared.

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

Neko means "Cat", all ANBU are named after animals, and I thought their Japanese names sounded cooler than saying "Mr. Cat"

Baa-chan is one way of saying "Grandma"; a very literal translation would be Granny

Nakama means "comrade / close friend / brother-in-arms"

Taicho (-taicho) means "Commander"

**1:** A kunai is an actual tool that real-life ninja used, however it was more of a bladed shovel than a throwing knife. I will be sticking with the internal logic of the anime though, and refer to their throwing knives as kunai

**2:** Shunshin is a very fast form of travel over short distances.

**3:** I don't remember if the scrolls were colored differently in the manga or anime, but I decided that they are color coded based on rank

**4:** Nidaime means "Second Generations" so Team 7 is literally the Second Generation of Sannin (which is a dumb name if you translate it, it only means "three ninja")

**5:** Because none of them (sans Dumbledore) are able to speak English at this time (hint, hint), they will be pronouncing English words with no proper translation in the Japanese fashion


	3. Chapter 2: From Hari to Haru

**Note:** I am posting this right away because it is the second half of the first chapter. For the most part I will try to stick to a weekly release schedule.

* * *

**Previously on Nin-Wizard:**

_Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are summoned by the Hokage at an ungodly hour of the morning!_

_There they meet a strange old man and a baby, who is their new mission target!_

_The old coot nodded and finally relinquished the infant into Sakura's tender care. He bowed to the three Jonin, bowed to Tsunade, and walked to the door. The two ANBU allowed him passage through the wards, and with a small crack – like the snapping of a twig – the man's aura disappeared._

* * *

Naruto dropped his mask with speed reminiscent of his father. "Tsunade-baba…!" he whined, automatically passing the scroll to Sasuke, "How long are we supposed to babysit for? How are we supposed to take care of a kid anyway? None of us have any! Why is this an SS-rank mission anyway? Just what the heck is an 'Outer Country'? And 'Wizards'? Really!? Are you going senile in your old age, Baa-chan?" He ducked to avoid the desk that was hurled at him with enough force to be lethal on impact.

"Shut up, gaki!" Tsunade said, baring her teeth. "You accepted this mission, and by kami you will complete this mission!" Three kunai hit the wall behind him, just barely managing to cut off a few strands of blond hair, which fluttered innocuously to the splinter strewn floor.

"But Baa-chan…!"

"Quiet!" Sakura hissed. Everyone froze, darting glances over at the temperamental medic-nin. She was holding the softly whimpering infant in one arm, while the other hand glowed a light green as she healed his forehead.

Naruto frowned at the feeling he was getting. "Sakura, stop." The command was obeyed instantly, though the woman glared in his direction. "There's something wrong about his aura, that cut in particular. Somehow there's another presence attached to him, and it's not friendly. Healing the wound is making the presence stronger, and in his current exhausted condition, I don't want to know what'll happen to Hari-chan if it gets stronger than him."

Sakura nodded, trusting the senses of her longtime teammate. She continued to patch up the gash, this time with plain bandages instead of chakra. "I'll run a full diagnostic once we agree on a cover story and I can bring him to the Hospital."

"Right, cover story," Naruto said, rocking back on his heels as his mind started to run through a million possibilities. "What's his real story?"

"Potta Hari Jemuzu," Sasuke said, his right eye shining red with three spinning tomoe**1** and he used his Sharingan to memorize the details of the scroll. "Or as his people say, Hari Jemuzu Potta – 15 months old, newly orphaned as of yesterday, half-blood wizard – whatever that means – oh, apparently it means one parent is a pureblood wizard and the other is a magurubon witch… pureblood meaning coming from a family of only Wizards and magurubon meaning coming from a family of only maguru… maguru are people without magic.**2**

"Magic, as defined by the Wizards, is an energy, or force, in the body and world that a Wizard is able to channel and direct into a variety of different ways. It differs from chakra slightly in that it is not formed in coils and dispersed evenly around the body, rather it is formed in the heart and flows primarily to the dominant hand and brain. They use a wand and keywords as a focal point to mold the magic, like we use hand signs. Beyond that it has almost the same function of chakra."

Naruto screwed up his face in concentration. "So, Wizards use magic the same way we use chakra, but it sounds like magic is primarily spiritual energy, not mixed with physical like ours is. Also, Hari's dad was the equivalent of a clan kid, and his mom was a civilian kid; also it sounds like there's bad blood between the clans and the civilians if there's so many words to separate them all." Sasuke nodded absently, reading further down the scroll.

"Apparently that bad blood turned into a civil war," the Uchiha said. "A Dark Lord calling himself… how do I pronounce this? Vu-oru-de-moto? Anyway, the Dark Lord rose in power through fear tactics and promising to create a world without maguru and magurubon… or at the very least a world where those people were treated no better than slaves. His supporters – called Death Eaters, for reasons unknown – were almost all purebloods from long family lines, and a handful of half-bloods who resented their maguru heritage. Ugh, they would also torture and kill civilians for the sport of it."

"They What!?" Naruto and Sakura screamed. Hari fussed, and everyone quieted as the pinkette soothed him back to sleep. Naruto smirked. Resting in Sakura's arms, with that messy crop of black hair, Hari looked like he could have been Sasuke and Sakura's son.

Sasuke caught Naruto's eye and turned the faintest shade of pink. Clearing his throat, he continued perusing the scroll. "Alongside the Ministry of Magic – that's the government – a group of freedom fighters, called the Order of the… I'm not reading that until I learn this ridiculous language. The Order would try to gather intelligence about the Dark Lord's movements and head him off, managing to catch almost as many Death Eaters as the Ministry. Two of the members of the Order were Jemuzu and Riri, Hari's parents.

"Somehow – it doesn't say – they learned that the Dark Lord was targeting them and one other family, specifically. They all went into hiding, but… they were betrayed by one of their closest friends." Sasuke's voice had gone completely void of emotion, and Naruto gripped his shoulder to ground him. "The Dark Lord personally arrived at their safe-house and murdered Hari's parents – from what it implies there is a jutsu that instantly kills the victim without any mark on the body, it can be dodged but not blocked. He attempted to use the same jutsu on Hari, but for some reason it didn't work and the Dark Lord vanished… no one knows for sure, but Danburudoa assumes that Riri might have used herself in a sort of ritualistic sacrifice to blanket Hari in a protection so strong that the spell rebounded and hit the Dark Lord instead. Also, there's a strong chance that the Dark Lord is not actually dead, but in a diminished state, however there is no reasoning given for that."

"Great, another Orochimaru on our hands," Naruto grumbled. It was bad enough that they had to kill the Snake Sannin five times before he finally stayed dead,**3** now they had another immortal wannabe to deal with. He was so done with pedophilic mass murderers obsessed with cheating death. "So that's Hari's story, but what exactly is our mission?"

"Bodyguard," Sasuke answered. "For at least ten years. The Wizard community is weird: they don't begin training their magic until eleven years old, at which point everyone goes to a boarding school for nine to ten months of the year. It takes seven years to graduate, and a Wizard is considered an adult at age 17."

Naruto pulled a face. "We had already finished a Great War by the time I turned 17, and we all graduated as young adults at twelve."**4**

"Not to mention that we started school at age seven," Sakura added. "At least we did," she motioned between herself an Sasuke, "you started two years early, right, Naruto?"**5**

"Yeah," the blond said wryly, "for all the good that did me. We could probably do the same with Hari. If he graduates the Academy before he turns eleven, then he'll be fully prepared to go to boarding school in this 'Outer Country' alone. The heck is an 'Outer Country', Baa-chan?"

Tsunade scowled. "The reason this is an SS-Rank mission. The Five Great Nations all exist in a relatively small space behind a powerful barrier. It's believed that the Sage of Six-Paths and his most trusted first students erected the barrier in order to keep the Tailed Beasts contained to a smaller area. Whatever the reason, the barrier prevents anything from the outside accidentally stumbling in or discovering our existence, as well as preventing anything inside from accidentally leaving. The barrier can be crossed, but it has to be intentional, and done properly.

"The lands beyond the barrier are called the Outer Countries and are revealed only on a need-to-know basis in order to prevent average idiots from crossing. The Outer Countries have developed very differently from ours, like they're of a different world entirely, and it would be extremely dangerous for someone to enter them without proper preparation. That being said, we have had spies in several of the Outer Countries since the founding of this village who are well versed in their cultures. This is important because you are not just guarding Hari-chan, you are preparing him to return to his homeland, including teaching him the language and customs of Ingurando well enough that he can merge back into society without too many questions asked."

"Ugh, okay," Naruto said. He tilted his head back, thoughts whirring. He almost had it all figured out. "One last question: Why us, Tsunade-baba?" He ducked the empty bottle of sake chucked at his head.

"Who else was I supposed to give this to?" the Hokage asked, growling. "There's only a handful of teams of this caliber who are still active, and most are in your age group. Of those, you're the team least likely to accidentally maim, neglect, or mentally scar a child."

And wasn't that the truth. Shinobi were not known for being parental material. The job almost required a person to be a little mental, and develop eccentricities, just to cope with the high levels of stress. It was truly a sad thing that Tsunade had to pick her final choice of babysitters between either a walking insect colony and a boy who howls at the moon or an ex-nukenin and a boy who regularly converses with a demon.

"Hey, what about Ino-Shika-Cho?" Naruto asked. "They've all settled into their roles as Heads of their Clans, so they have the time and resources, and they're on our level in terms of skill. Not to mention Shika and Ino are married already, even if neither of them have kids yet."

"It's because they're Clan Heads without heirs yet that I didn't choose them. For one, I'm keeping their missions at A-Rank or lower until their line of succession is secured; the last thing we need is for a clan to fall into disarray because their Head died without an heir. For two, even if rank wasn't an issue, the messiness that comes with having a ward or adopted child who is older than the heir to the clan is best avoided. This is especially true for those three clans because their jutsu can theoretically be learned by anyone, unlike a kekkei genkai that must be inherited, further muddling succession rights."

"Besides," Sakura said, eyes sparkling, "can you honestly imagine a child raised by those three? In the best case scenario Hari-chan will return to Ingurando a lazy glutton who cares more about fashion than practicality."

"So being an annoying prankster with a penchant for grudges is better?" Sasuke asked, a smirk on his face.

"I prefer the emotionally stunted bookworm with hyperactivity myself," Sakura shot back.

Naruto laughed with his nakama for a minute. When he straightened up Sakura and Sasuke shifted to stand at attention. "Sasuke, you returned from a mission in Grass two days ago, right? And, Sakura, you took a two week vacation from the hospital to self-study chakra pathways and prosthetic limbs, right?" He received twin nods. "Alright, Sasuke, I want you to 'convince' the Gatekeepers, Hokage Tower staff, various Hospital staff and some civilians that you returned with an infant. He was badly wounded from the bandit attack you rescued him from, so you took him directly to Sakura-chan for treatment. Sakura, you've only just proclaimed him healthy enough to bring out into the public, and you also want a second opinion on the peculiar head wound. Baa-chan, I'm going to need some official papers recognizing him as a former Grass citizen and now a Fire citizen, as well as an official request and response for guardianship from Sasuke – make sure it's 'guardian' and not 'adoption'. Sakura-chan and I can be secondary guardians… maybe godparents? Actually, you two are getting married next fall, so Sakura-chan would gain joint-guardianship after that, so naming her godmother isn't necessary.

"Speaking of getting married, can I tell Hinata-chan about this, Tsunade-baba? I'd rather not keep such a big secret from her for the next ten years. She'll probably notice something is up anyway."

Tsunade waved a lazy hand, her other already at work on an important looking document. "Yeah, yeah, just make sure you use the same precautions you'd use on anyone else." Naruto winced, but nodded. He had a strong distaste for silencing seals since Danzo abused their power on his subordinates. His only consolation was that he never used them in the same way, for the same reason, or to the same extent as the corrupt politician.

"Are you alright using your Sharingan like that, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. The Uchiha was tensed, but he nodded anyway. Naruto cringed again. None of them liked turning those eyes on the villagers, it was like a betrayal of the promise he made to never harm the people of Konoha again. Unfortunately, with an SS-Rank secret, it was often necessary to alter memories of events, and while Sakura was skilled in genjutsu, it wouldn't be enough for this level of deception.

"Teme..."

"It's fine, Dobe," Sasuke insisted. The line of his shoulders said the opposite. Still, the fact that he was trying to ease Naruto's guilt over giving such a cruel order was comforting.

"Alright, then all that's left is to give Hari-chan a new name," Naruto said. "Something common that could belong to anyone, but similar enough that it'll be easy to switch between his two identities when the time comes."

"Haru," Sakura said instantly. "Tokonomidori Haru."**6**

"'Springtime', I like it," Naruto said. He reached over and gently patted the sleeping infant's head. "Welcome to Kohonagakure, Haru-chan."

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

Baa-chan and Baba are two different ways of saying "Grandma"; translated very literally Baa-chan would be "Granny" and Baba would be "Old Lady"

Gaki means "brat"

Kami means "god"

Nukenin means "Missing Ninja"; historically it meant a death sentence of highest priority because it would mean the death of the community if their secrets got out into the wrong hands, in the internal logic of Naruto it refers to rogues of high caliber

Dobe is a word that refers to the lowest ranked person in class, and the anime translates it as "dead last". While not as big a deal in the US, it's absolutely horrible in Japan where test scores and rankings are made public (at least to your schoolmates) and people judge you on your academic achievements (or lack thereof).

**1:** Tomoe have a comma-like appearance and are very common in Japanese heraldry

**2:** English words that cannot be translated are being pronounced in the Japanese style (maguru = muggle); interestingly, however, is that there are Japanese words for pureblood and half-blood

**3:** Orochimaru needs to die, in a bad way; I know that he has a kid (or two?) in Boruto, but I have made the executive decision to kill him off

**4:** I don't know if it says in the manga/anime, but I've decided that not even shinobi would want children going to war, so a person becomes a legal adult upon earning the rank of Genin

**5:** Iruka said that it was Naruto's third attempt at graduating when he finally made Genin, so either he alone was allowed to take the test early for no reason, or he had the appropriate number of years in school and simply couldn't pass

**6:** Translated literally, Toko no midori means "Ceramic of Green" or "Green Pottery"; I thought it was a nice nod to his former identity


	4. Chapter 3: We are Only Human

November 1991

Albus Dumbledore slumped into his office chair. No one besides the portraits and Fawkes was present to witness the undignified display, and none of them would be telling anyone that the esteemed Headmaster of Hogwarts was currently doing a good impression of a washed up jellyfish. The past two days had been taxing mentally, emotionally, and magically.

He glanced at the myriad of monitors and sensors on his desk. Most of them were no more useful than glorified paperweights after his latest decision. The various trinkets that would have monitored the tripartite wards on Privet Drive – Blood, Anti-Dark, and Privacy**1** – now had nothing to keep track of. He still hadn't removed the baubles that had been humming along happily until yesterday; that was when the Fidelias Charm had been broken and Godric's Hollow breached by Voldemort himself. One tiny globe was spinning at a ridiculous pace as it tried to pinpoint the location of a tracking spell that currently did and did not exist at the same time – Albus had forgotten to cancel the charm he placed on Harry before leaving, but it was a simple matter to disengage even at a distance.

A large part of him questioned if handing Harry over to the Ninja of the Enclosed Lands**2** was the right choice. The Enclosed Lands had only been rediscovered by the Wizarding World about a century ago, after disappearing almost a millennia before that. Since then, contact had been minimal at best, and only when the "special services" that the ninja offered were needed. There had been a handful of times when Albus considered hiring out a squad or two to help in the war against Voldemort. However, he eschewed this on account that the other side seemed to be ignoring the Enclosed Lands – and in all likelihood if one side hired ninja, the other side would as well, and the Order couldn't deal with that.

Ninja were powerful, viscous, and cold. Their only real redeeming quality was their professionalism; the mission parameters would always be fulfilled. Albus would never have even considered them to aid in the protection of the Boy-Who-Lived if it hadn't been for Minerva McGonagall. The Scottish Lioness had been so adamant about Harry not being placed in the care of his mother's family that she had threatened to kidnap him to the Enclosed Lands and raise him there herself. It had been one of the few times she had directly opposed his decisions, and in all cases she was generally right.

It had shaken him up enough that when Hagrid arrived with the sleeping infant Albus made a snap decision. He bundled the Savior of the Wizarding World in his father's invisibility cloak, promised Minerva that he would be safe, and apparated to the Gate. There was a little bit of red tape he had to use his authority to blow through, but it was worth it to arrive at the nearest Ninja City, Konohagakure, in just a few hours after leaving Privet Drive.

Though impressed with their manners and professionalism, it took a lot of effort to hand Harry over to the pink-haired ninja woman. He had plans upon plans towards the fall of Voldemort that also counteracted any action the Dark Lord might take against the forces of the Light. Harry, initially on the periphery, was launched into the center of all his schemes with the prophecy and the half-fulfilling of it. He needed direct access and control of Harry to ensure that everything came to pass as it should. It was all for the Greater Good. Placing the one-year-old in the care of those young warriors would undermine all of that.

Yet… Albus couldn't help the small part of his spirit that cried in relief. Removing the child from his arms had taken more weight off his shoulders than he had ever realized he carried. The selfish part of him that had wanted to run away from his responsibilities to his family resurfaced itself. He just wanted to stop. Even if it was only for ten years until Harry returned, Albus just wanted the war and his role in it to all stop.

Unfortunately, the world kept on turning, and he knew first-hand the horrible price of escapism – may Arianna rest in peace. However, as he banished most of the items on his desk, Albus couldn't help but noticing that perhaps the immediate future looked a tiny bit brighter. He could focus solely on running his school and researching ways Voldemort might have cheated Death without dividing his attention further – he liked the lightness of his shoulders, so he would ease himself out of the political spotlight as quickly as possible in this recovering world.

When Harry returned, the stage would be set. He just had to trust that the boy would be ready.

* * *

September 1997

Naruto hurried down the street to his house. His gut had been nagging him for a while that something bad had happened. Unfortunately, as Hokage, he couldn't just drop all his work and check on his family on a whim. So the blond had forced himself to complete all the pressing tasks for the day before leaving the office - though he did manage to leave early.

He had also resisted the urge to shunshin home. Using the travel time between the Hokage Tower and his house, he systematically dispelled the myriad of Shadow Clones he had placed throughout the village for various reasons. It was an important part of the day, a time to reflect on everything that happened and catalog all his "new" memories; neglecting it would leave him in a state unable to handle whatever was waiting for him at home.

'Calm down, Kit,' Kurama grumbled sleepily. 'The twins probably figured out where the glue is and decided to continue terrorizing Konoha just like their old man.'

'Not likely,' Naruto snickered back, pausing to file away the memories of the clone sent to visit the orphanage. 'I at least would have heard the complaints from my office if that was the case.'

'Like the time when you summarily dismissed the requests to straighten out your kids so they don't paint the playground lavender again?'

'You have to admit it was impressive for two toddlers just shy of turning three.'

'It's still your fault for not locking away the paint for the baby room.'

'And I'm still not sorry.'

'What are you going to do when they discover the wonders of glitter?'

'I was thinking of assigning the rookie ANBU agents as their bodyguards to keep them out of trouble.'

'And they call _me_ the Incarnation of Evil. I will pray for those poor ANBU souls, and you get to explain to their families why they are locked up in a psychiatric ward.'

'The twins aren't that bad.'

'They are two of _you_,' the Kitsune closed the argument.

The conversation had carried him all the way to his house. The front door opened normally, but was unaccompanied by excited shouts and squeals he had come to expect. Naruto felt his gut clench as he moved through the empty living room into the kitchen.

"Hinata!"

The young woman raised her head from where it had been buried in her hands. There were tears still fresh on her face, pouring from red-rimmed eyes. Her hair looked disheveled and she sat hunched over the table, so unlike her natural regal bearing.

"Naruto-kun," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

The blond sprinted to stand beside his wife in a second. "What's wrong, Nata-chan?**3** Are you okay? Is it the baby? Oh, kami! It's still three weeks early! Are you in pain? I'll run get Sakura!" One delicate hand gripped onto his arm before he could go rushing around like a complete madman.

"I'm alright, To-kun," Hinata said, "The baby is alright as well. We're both fine."

She still had tears in her eyes, but Naruto felt himself relaxing at her assurances anyway. "The twins?"

"Staying with Sakura at the moment. I haven't gone to pick them up yet."

"Haru?" Hinata's face crumpled and she hid it in his chest as fresh sobs began to shake her slim shoulders. "Nata-chan, what happened? What's wrong? Where is he?"

"U-up-stairs," she said. "He's f-fine."

"Tell me," Naruto murmured, rubbing her back. Slowly Hinata relayed the events of the day. How she was called to the Academy. What she found there. The conversation and Haru's reaction to it. And…

"Then he… Then he… he called me a-a-a traitor… and he said… said 'I hate you' and ran off," Hinata cried. Naruto tightened his grip, anger coursing through him that anyone would dare say such things to his wife, much less his own nephew. Sensing his darkening mood, the young woman added, "I kn-know he didn't mean it. Children often say... things like that when they feel upset. I shouldn't be taking it so personally, it must be the pregnancy hormones, I just..."

"Hinata," Naruto pulled back enough to lift her chin until soft lavender eyes met passionate blue. "Whether he meant it or not, it should not have been said. You did not deserve that sort of disrespect. You are the most amazing woman in the world, and I am blessed beyond measure to have you as my wife and the mother of my kids. I'll talk to him; this incident will not happen again."

"What if it does?" she asked. "His accidental outbursts are getting stronger. They'll be harder to hide from now on. Everyone else might believe that he pulled a prank, but Haru knows differently."

Naruto sighed. "I'm inviting the Uchiha family over. We're going to have to have _that_ talk with him. No-no! You stay put. I'll make dinner tonight." One familiar hand-sign later, and the kitchen was a bit more crowded.

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

**1:** I doubt that Dumbledore would have left Harry's protection strictly up to something as fickle as Blood Wards. At any rate, there had to have been a Privacy Ward of some sort so that he wasn't bothered with fan-mail while growing up. Also I refuse to accept that Remus up and ignored Harry for twelve years without a reason, and wards that block everything labeled Dark (including Werewolves) is a sufficient one.

**2:** I've seen the Five Great Nations called everything from the Elemental Nations to the Hidden Continent, so I tried for something unique that also still made sense in the context of the narrative.

**3:** Japanese does not have "terms of endearment" as we have them (you could call someone "love" or "honey", but it will get you a funny look). Nicknames are how people show deep affection for each other, so I gave Hinata and Naruto the cutest ones I could come up with: Nata-chan and To-kun. Let me know if you have any other suggestions, there isn't a limit on nicknames.


	5. Chapter 4: I'd Tell You but I'd Kill You

**Note:** I was honestly surprised by how much dislike Hinata was getting. In my mind she did what needed to be done in order to diffuse a dangerous situation without anyone suspecting that there was something strange about Haru. Being a seven year old, and not fully aware of the situation, Haru flew off the handle and majorly disrespected her. I don't know about ya'll, but I was raised to respect my parent regardless of whether I agreed with them, liked their decisions, or my mood.

I'm not saying you _have_ to like Hinata, I just figured I had better explain myself since there was so much negativity being thrown at her.

* * *

November 1991

The sun had barely poked itself over the horizon when a blond blur descended on the Hyuuga Compound. After sorting out a few more details with his team, Naruto had scurried off to his apartment for some special supplies. He really didn't want to use them, but that was the price for wanting his fiancee to know what he was going to be up to for the next decade.

He could have held this off until later. He had another job that had to be done today before reconvening at Sasuke's house. However, he felt that it was more important to take care of this matter first. Besides, he had the whole day, and his task wasn't nearly as bad as the others'.

Sakura, after taking however long to fix Hari at the hospital, had to put together a complete list of supplies they would need to raise a kid. Then was the shopping trip, which she said could mostly be done between herself, Ino, Hinata, Tenten, and Temari. Naruto made a mental note to avoid the shopping district for the rest of the day, lest he be recruited to help carry purchases for the girls group.

Sasuke had the dubious task of rewriting over two dozen people's memories. He had already started on the Tower staff when Naruto left, and tracking down and altering the rest would probably take a few hours. The rest of the day would be spent baby-proofing his house and setting up 'Haru areas' in Naruto's and Sakura's apartments; while he would be listed at the primary caregiver, they were all going to split the responsibility evenly.

All Naruto had to do was sneak into T&I to recruit an Ingurando specialist. According to Tsunade, Yamanaka Meino**1** had not only been a spy in that country, but now worked as a trainer and coordinator for deep cover spies being sent to that area. He already had about a dozen different methods to go about making contact, and after that it was as easy as saying 'Hokage sent me'. Which was why he was putting it off until after the much more important task was accomplished.

The blond didn't bother trying to sneak into the Compound. Not only would Hiashi try to kill him if he thought anything indecent was going on, but there was always at least one guard with the Byakugan activated at all times. Instead, Naruto landed on the top of the wall closest to Hinata's house and waited. Within a few seconds a guard showed up, and the blond grinned when he recognized him.

"Hey, Neji!"

"Naruto," the young man greeted. "It's too early in the morning for your exuberance."

"Long night?"

"Lee decided that it would be a good idea to challenge me to various contests while I was on duty."

Naruto winced. He loved his fellow Jonin, but even he had to admit that Konoha's Green Beast was a lot to handle. A few minutes of exposure per day was usually the limit for most people, while his friends could almost go for an hour. He couldn't imagine being forced into getting a quintuple dose over the course of one night. Neji had nerves of steel to still look as pristine as he did.

"Is he nervous about the mission to Iron he's supposed to go on today?"

"More like Tenten is cranky and kicked him out."**2**

Naruto didn't even try to hide his laughter. "What did he do this time?"

Neji smirked. "You know how she's been planning a birthday party for him.**3** Well, she didn't take my advice to not keep it a surprise."

"And his mission is scheduled to take up the whole month, so he won't be back 'til afterwards," Naruto said, still chuckling. "A thousand ryo says she'll be storming into the Hokage Tower by noon demanding he be recalled."

"Sucker's bet," Neji said.

"I'll just have to ask Baa-chan then." The boys shared a laugh. "Is Hinata…?"

"Hinata-sama is entering her private training yard now," Neji said, stepping aside.

"Thanks, Neji!" Naruto called over his shoulder as he sped passed.

Ever since Hinata had been re-accepted as the Hyuuga Heiress she had had access to her own training yard beside the Main Family's mansion. She primarily used it just for her morning warm-up routine, preferring the larger, public training grounds to hone her combat techniques. Naruto smiled as he caught sight of his beloved. She was dressed casually in form-fitting pants and shirt, with her long hair tied back.

Hinata looked up at him as he approached, smiling serenely despite being dropped into the full splits. "You're here early, Naruto-kun."

"You can't blame a guy for wanting to see the love of his life as soon and often as possible," he said. His grin got wider as he saw the blush spread across her cheeks. She had gotten better, but it still didn't take much prompting to turn the quiet girl bright red – and now that he knew what it meant, Naruto enjoyed doing so.

The young woman finished her stretch and stood up, though she still had to tilt her head back to look him in the eye. "Did you need something?"

"You doubt my intentions?"

"No, but I am worried about the tension in your shoulders. Why are you so anxious?"

"Nothing escapes those beautiful eyes of your, does it?" Naruto asked. Then he sighed and rolled his shoulders to loosen up. "We're going to need some privacy."

Hinata said nothing, but she did raise a hand in a gesture that was too controlled to be natural. After a moment she nodded and said, "There is no one within hearing range. What's wrong, Naruto-kun? I haven't seen you this nervous since the day you asked my father for my hand."

"That's kinda what I want to talk about."

Her eyes darkened. "Are you having doubts? About us?"

"What? No! I want to marry you! I'd run off and do it today if it wouldn't get me killed by literally everyone in the village." Hinata giggled. Naruto sighed again. "No, it's that we're getting married, and I don't think that it's good if we keep secrets from each other."

"Secrets?"

"I received a mission today..." He hesitated, but Hinata waited patiently. "It's SS."

Hinata sucked in a sharp breath. She knew what that meant. Even just telling her that he had a mission of such a caliber required that he ensure her silence, and it would only get worse as he told her the details. She showed no surprise when he opened a scroll to reveal a sealing set,**4** but he couldn't help but notice the nervous swallow and the fear that had painted itself on her face.

"Nata-chan, please," Naruto begged. "I got Tsunade-baba's permission to tell you because I don't want… I can't live a lie with you for the entire duration of this mission. If you don't want to know, I won't force it, but… please. I'm afraid: afraid of getting into the habit of lying to you, afraid of keeping secrets when I don't have to, afraid of… of losing you because of a mission." He held his breath as he waited for her response, whole body trembling in near panic.

* * *

Hinata threw her arms around the man she had loved since childhood. She felt as the tension slowly drained from his frame and he pulled her close. She heard his heartbeat, fast and slightly erratic, slow to its usual steady pace. He pulled in a gasp of air, lungs working again. Once he was finally relaxed she pulled away in order to peck his lips.

"To-kun," she said, faces an inch apart. "You will never, ever lose me. I resolved a long time ago to be someone who would stand by your side no matter what. Yes, I am frightened. SS-Rank missions are nothing to laugh about. But I love you more than I fear what you are about to tell me." This time it was Naruto who leaned in to capture her lips in a kiss, and she practically melted. Even once the kiss ended they stayed close together for a minute, drawing strength from each other.

"You are the most amazing woman in the world, you know that right?" Naruto said as they pulled apart. Hinata smiled, wanting to kiss him all over again, but controlled herself as he reached for the brush and ink he had brought.

"Where will you put the seal?" she asked. Depending on the placement, size, and complexity, she might have to order her guards to not watch them either – or at least make sure her father didn't accidentally see. She really did not want to explain why her fiance was seeing and touching certain places of bare skin before the wedding night.

Naruto grimaced. "The tongue. This isn't going to taste good. But the only other option is the nape of the neck, which would not only need to be shaved, but it would also instantly kill you if you tried to say anything to the wrong person. This way you'll live, just without a tongue… which is a horrible thought now that I said that out loud."

"I trust you, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, cutting off his rambling. "Trust me." She didn't say anymore, just obediently opened her mouth, tongue flat and exposed. She had vowed to stand by his side when they were mere Genin; she vowed to be his support when she agreed to marry him. The seal he was carefully tracing onto her tongue was only an extension of these promises that she intended to keep until the day she died.

* * *

September 1997

Haru lay on his bed and glared at his ceiling. No, he wasn't pouting. More like… fuming. Yes, Haru was fuming in his room, the events from earlier that day replaying in his head over and over. It was bad enough that they had been given the worst substitute teacher to deal with, but then everyone – even his own aunt – had decided to pin the blame of a prank on him.

While he had done his fair share of pranks over the years, he had a deal with his family to not interrupt class with them. It still stung that his aunt had believed the substitute over him; it hurt that she believed he would so easily break his promise.

A knock interrupted his thoughts.

"Go away," he said.

"Can't do that, gaki," his uncle said as he came into the room. Haru glared at Naruto and turned his back on the blond man.

Silence stretched on, until finally Haru snapped, "What do you want?"

"For starters I'd like your attitude checked," Naruto said. "I don't care whether you like it or not, but you were raised to treat people with respect."

Haru spun around with a snarl. "So you don't believe me either? You think I pulled that stupid prank? Well, fine! Even if I did, he deserved it!"

"I wasn't talking about Kato-san, but we will come back to that." The man narrowed his eyes, and Haru shivered a little. "I'm talking about my wife, and the reason why she's in the kitchen crying."

Haru felt a stab of guilt at that. They had gotten back from the school a couple hours ago. He never liked it when Hinata cried, especially because of him. "I didn't mean to."

"What you meant and what you did are two very different things."

"Well, she shouldn't've taken Bakato-sensei's side," Haru grumbled, looking away. "I said I didn't do it, but she didn't believe me."

"What makes you say that?"

"She told me to apologize."

Naruto snorted. "So? Sometimes you have to say sorry for something that was out of your control in order to appease someone else. It wasn't about whether you were guilty or not, it's about being polite – something you failed to do, might I add."

Haru scowled. "She said I was in trouble for pranking during class."

"Yes, you were." Naruto held up a hand before Haru could retort. "But did she say who you were in trouble with?"

"Huh?"

"Like, did she say you were in trouble with her? Or in trouble with your family?"

"No..."

"You are half way through your second year in the Academy,"**5** Naruto said. "I would expect you to start looking beneath outward appearances by now. Not everything is as it seems."

Haru cringed. The conversation from earlier replaying for the hundredth time, but now in a different context. True to Naruto's overt hint, Hinata had made no direct statements about whether she believed one over the other. Feeling the heat rise in his cheeks he said, "She wouldn't let me defend myself. She just told me we would talk when we got home."

"Yes," Naruto agreed. "This is a conversation best had away from public ears. And to tell you the truth, she isn't able to say anything to you directly without my permission."

"What? Why?"

"You probably haven't noticed, but your Oba-chan has a seal on her tongue," Naruto said, eyeing Haru. He didn't say anymore, but Haru's thoughts were whirling. He had grown up with stories about his family's Genin and Chunin days. Several of the later ones involved his weird uncle Sai. One story in particular was sitting in the forefront of his mind.

"You sealed her!?" Haru hissed. The absolute horror that his uncle held that sort of power over his aunt left him feeling cold to the bone.

"With her permission, yes," Naruto said. "There's a lot about yourself that you don't know, Haru-kun. And most of it can never be known by the public. Certain precautions had to be taken for everyone who was told anything. I gave Hinata a choice: know what I know and wear the seal, or stay ignorant. You know which one she chose."

"But, but you can..."

"I did not use the same seal that Danzo liked to use," Naruto spat. He took a breath and calmed down. "I can't order her obedience, I can't kill her with a keyword, and if she tries to reveal the secret to the wrong person the seal will remove her tongue without killing her."

"Oh." Haru felt his lungs start working normally again. Slowly the cold left him. Now all he could feel was the ache of regret and embarrassment. "I'm sorry, for earlier."

"I'm not the one you should apologize to."

"Right." Haru looked at his bedroom door. Half of him wanted to charge downstairs into Hinata's arms, the other half wanted to hide under the blankets. "You said we were going to talk about Bakato-sensei."

Naruto chuckled. "While I understand your resentment, at least try to be polite to his face – if only so I don't have to deal with him later."

"Hai, Ji-chan."

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

**1:** I chose for her to be a Yamanaka for a couple of reasons. First, they seem pretty involved with T&I. Second, think how much easier mind-powers would make learning a whole language from scratch. Third, it was easier than coming up with a fake name.

**2:** Yes, I ship TenLee, thank you very much! I think they would be an adorable couple, also can you imagine the powerhouses their kids would turn into? Fun Fact: Shun-chan, mentioned in the Prologue, is the daughter of TenLee (same age as Harry).

**3:** Rock Lee's birthday is November 27. Since he's a year older than Naruto, he will be turning 21 in 1991.

**4:** No, he is not a Seal Master (yet...); I got tired of the trope where Naruto learns of the Uzumaki clan, and *boom* he's the best/only Seal Master in Konoha. At the same time, I can't deny that I like the idea of Naruto using seals. So my compromise is that he will take several years to learn and practice. Right now (1991) he's at the level where he has several of the more useful ones memorized, and he can slowly pick apart the components of an unfamiliar seal to figure out what it does.

**5:** I'm giving the Great Nations their own scholastic year, based loosely (very loosely) off of the Japanese scholastic year. The school year starts in early April, they get a month breath in July and a month break in November, and it ends in early March. So, in early September, Haru would have had four out of nine months of school.


	6. Chapter 5: Cute Aside

**Note:** Yes, I'm posting early. That's because this is a _short_, fluffy chapter, meant for good feels. It barely advances the plot, but I couldn't resist. There will still be a regular chapter posted on Tuesday.

* * *

May 1992

"C'mon, you can do it, say 'Na-ru-to-ji-chan'."

"Na-do-tan!"

Hinata stifled her giggles at the scene she came upon in the living area. Haru wasn't yet two, but he had been 'speaking' for several months already. Sakura had mentioned that his babble would turn into intelligible words soon, and all three of the Nidaime Sannin had been competing for the honor of being the 'first' named.

"Close, you almost have it. Try again: Na-ru-to-ji-chan."

"Na-da-da-tan!"

"Na-ru-to-ji-chan."

"Nana-ba!" Haru squealed, having caught sight of Hinata at that moment.

Naruto jumped up and spun around. "Nata-chan!" His face went red.

Haru laughed. "Nana-ba, ho-chu." He lifted his arms, making grabs with his hands.

"You want me to hold you?" Hinata asked, gliding closer.

"Ho-chu, ho-chu!"**1**

Hinata obligingly hoisted the toddler into her arms, to his peals of delight. "Now what were you doing, I wonder?" she said with a teasing smirk at her husband.

Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "Training," he said.

Hinata laughed. "Oh, really? Were you training with your Ji-chan, Haru-chan?"

"Di-tan!"

"Better. Na-ru-to-ji-chan," Naruto said, forgetting his embarrassment.

"Na-di-tan!"

"Don't you think it's a bit long for him?" Hinata asked.

"Nope! He can do this, right, Haru-chan?"

"Ha-ryu-tan!"

Hinata threw back her head in laughter, Naruto joining in after he got over his surprise.

"Are you a dragon, Haru-chan?"**2**

"Ryu-ryu-tan!" More laughter sounded.

Hinata bounced her happy toddler. "Well then, my little Ryu-chan, can you say 'Naruto'? Say, 'Na-ru-to'."

"Na-ryu-to!"

"Yosh!"**3** Naruto yelled, jumping up and down. "He said my name first! Beat that, Sasuke-teme, Sakura-chan!" Haru giggled at his uncle's antics, and Hinata was laughing too hard to scold him at using such crude language in front of a child. "Say it again. Say, 'Na-ru-to'."

"Na-ryu-to!"

"Good. Now say, 'Na-ru-to-ji-chan'."

"Na-to-chi-tan!"

Naruto scrunched up his face, and Hinata giggled.

"Say, 'Naruto'," she said.

"Na-ryu-to!"

"Good, now say, 'Ji-chan'."

"Chi-tan!"

"Close. Ji-chan."

"Shi-chan!"

"Good. Naruto?"

"Na-ryu-to!"

"Ji-chan."

"Shi-chan!"

"Good, now say, 'Naruto-jichan'."

"Na'to-chi-chan!

Hinata laughed, and Naruto groaned in resignation. It would be quite a few years before he outgrew the butchering of his name. Thankfully "Saku-rya" had to suffer along until Haru learned to pronounce his r's properly.

* * *

September 1997

Walking downstairs with his uncle was companionable, but Haru still felt like he was marching to his own trial and execution. A person does not simply make _The_ Uzumaki-Hyuuga Hinata cry and get away with it; Haru was actually surprised Naruto had only scolded him. The last person to bring tears to the young woman's eyes had been pounded into the ground so hard and fast that it was a wonder he survived the encounter. Granted, there was a bit of a gap between his seven-year-old self and the rude teen from Stone. Thankfully there hadn't been an international diplomatic incident over the matter, mostly because the Tsuchikage herself agreed that the Chunin-wanna-be had desperately needed a lesson on respect.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Haru was greeted with the sight of three Naruto clones cooking in the kitchen and one holding and comforting Hinata. The boy was not surprised when the 'man' beside him poofed out of existence upon entering the kitchen, thereby alerting the rest to his presence. The clones at the stove and cutting vegetables made no indication that they noticed him, though the one rooting through the fridge turned around to give an encouraging smile. The one with Hinata – which Haru would bet all his ryo was the original – looked up at him, mien stern and expectant. Hinata also looked up, her gaze following her husbands; her eyes were red, puffy, and still wet.

Haru ducked his head, and forced his feet forwards. He wanted to hide. He wanted to bolt back up to his room. He wanted to burrow under the covers and cry into his pillow. What he did was walk until his feet stopped in front of his aunt's chair.

His lip was trembling so much that he almost couldn't get out a quiet, "S-s-sorry... O-Oba-chan. I… I'm s-sor-ry." His eyes stung, and he tried not to blink so that the tears wouldn't fall. He lost the battle when two soft hands guided him into a warm embrace.

"I forgive you, Haru-kun. My precious child. It's alright, shh, it's alright."

"I l-love y-you."

"I know, shh, it's okay, I know. I love you too, my little Ryu-chan."

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

**1:** This is based off my little brother; he would say "hold you" when he wanted to be picked up. I had wanted to find an equivalent in Japanese, but it wasn't working out, so I stuck with the English phrase with Japanese syllables.

**2:** Ryu is the Japanese word for Dragon

**3:** Basically translates to "Alright!", it's hard for me to read the word without hearing Lee yelling it at the top of his lungs.


	7. Chapter 6: British Little Secret

November 1991

It was mid-morning when masked ANBU Taka quietly showed himself inside the first room of T&I. The receptionist was not phased as the man requested to speak with Higurashi Sota**1**, Head of Outside Affairs, and gave the correct password to prove he had authority to make such a request. She quickly directed him into the correct receiving chamber, and sent a message to Higurashi.

The ANBU only had to wait a few moments before the older man arrived. He wasted no time giving the second password, and showed the reason for the visit. "Hokage-sama requested this scroll be delivered directly to Yamanaka Meino-san." The scroll in question was thick and bore both the official mark of the Hokage and a powerful blood-seal that would prevent all but a seal-master from seeing the contents without permission.

Higurashi turned and left the room, a silent shadow following him. T&I was a massive complex, with most of its space occupying underground. The hallways were designed to confuse, the rooms meant to trap, and nasty surprises lay around every corner. No single person knew every secret of the complex; even the Department Heads only knew their designated areas. The deeper a person got into the heart of T&I, the harder it was to ever get out again – physically and psychologically. Their journey ended in an office about twenty minutes' walk from their starting point.

"Higurashi-sama, ANBU-sama," a middle-aged woman said from behind a massive desk, which was already elbow deep in documents.

"Meino-san, you have something from the Hokage," Higurashi said.

The ANBU took the cue to step forward and present the scroll. Meino's face didn't change, though she must have felt daunted by the size of the missive. Mission complete, the masked man nodded to the Department Head, and they both departed; the soft swish of long brown hair was the only sound he had made.

Once they were back above ground, 'Taka' nodded to Higurashi and shunshined away. Hidden at the top of a nearby building, the clone dispelled himself. His boss should be proud of a job well done.

* * *

Inside the complex, Yamanaka Meino eyed the scroll with apprehension. From the sheer size it would take her all day and longer just to read it, never-mind what information it contained. Still, it was given by the Hokage herself, so she just had to suck it up and get to work. The first thing she did was activate the barrier seals on her door so that she could not be interrupted or observed.

The second she finished that task her battle-honed senses screamed that something wasn't right. She was just fast enough to grab her kunai and spin out of the way of the hand reaching for her arm. Unfortunately her opponent was faster. There was a flash of yellow in her periphery vision before she was pinned face-first into the wall by someone who was much stronger than she was.

"Stand down, Yamanaka-san," a man's voice commanded. "Hokage-sama sent me."**2**

She did not let go of her weapon, despite the intense pressure being applied to her wrist. "How am I supposed to trust anything you say?"

"You're a Yamanaka," he stated the obvious. "I'll let you look into my mind, but since the information is delicate, you'll have to let me seal your tongue afterwards."

Meino relaxed her muscles. Better to have her assailant believe she was cooperating than to pointlessly struggle. She was released, and she spun around to come face-to-face with The Golden Sage himself, Uzumaki Naruto. Or, at least, someone who looked convincingly like him.

The T&I veteran got into a battle stance. "Perhaps you didn't complete your homework, but we Yamanaka are unable to peer into a Jinchuriki's mind."**3**

"I know," the man said, posture still relaxed. "But that should be adequate proof of my identity, right? I know enough about your jutsu from Ino: if you get into my mind I am unable to move my body. If I'm lying about who I am, you will have complete control of me, if I am telling the truth, then there is no reason for you to hijack my mind."

Deciding to take the risk, Meino raised her hands in a hand-sign unique to her clan, and prepared to perform Long Distance Psycho Mind Transmission. It would take less chakra to place a hand on his head, but she wasn't about to take that risk when he was unsecured and of uncertain identity. With a focused breath, she molded her chakra.

A moment later she was knocked backwards by a blast of power that could belong to none other than the Kyuubi no Kitsune. She gasped, trying to get back her breath after coming face-to-face with the monstrous and ancient being. There was nothing about Naruto's mind that she had been able to see before her violent removal, but – as he had pointed out before – that itself was proof of his identity.

"I'm sorry, Yamanaka-san," Konoha's Savior said, offering her own chair to her. "I tried to tell him to be gentle, but he's a little possessive… and very petty... and grumpy when he's woken up... Yeah, I said it. Suck it up."

Meino gratefully sank down into her chair, pointedly not thinking about the greatest of the Tailed Beasts acting like a spoiled child - or about Konoha's Savior talking to it out loud like a crazy person. "Grab your sealing set and tell me why you need my services."

Half an hour later, Naruto concluded summarizing his mission with, "So we need your help to become fluent in the language of Ingurando as quickly as possible."

Meino sighed and rubbed her temples. "First, the land is called England – yes, I pronounced it differently than you did – and their language is British English, not to be confused with American English or Australian English. Second, it takes years to become fluent in a second language, and even longer to sound like a native speaker; there's a reason why most of our spies have been in the business at their respective locations for generations. Even with me priming your minds to accept a second language easier - which I can't even do for you, might I add - I doubt I will be able to teach you fast enough to avoid Harry learning it incorrectly as well."

Naruto smirked. "Have you forgotten who you'll be teaching? _The_ Uchiha Sasuke: genuine genius, master of the Sharingan and its ability to perfectly copy any and all information it sees. Haruno Sakura: the brightest kunoichi of her age, the only student of Senju Tsunade who mastered everything the Sannin knew in just over three years' time. And myself, Uzumaki Naruto: a one man army, with the ability to produce a thousand Shadow Clones at once; if it'll take five years for one man to learn, I will become a few hundred men and learn it in five days, dattebayo!"

Meino blinked, then felt a smile touch her lips. She had been at her job so long that few things surprised her anymore, and even less got her excited. It was high time she had another challenge. "Very well, I will meet you and your team at the center of Training Ground 35 at dawn in one week; we will be meeting every week until I am satisfied you could pass as someone whose entire genealogy had lived their whole lives in England. Let's see if you can live up to your own hype, Uzumaki-san."

* * *

September 1997

The arrival of the Uchiha signaled that everything was about to devolve into the typical brand of chaos that was Haru's family. It started the moment Hikari set eyes on him and yelled, "Haru-tan is nukenin!" Thus began her and the twins' favorite game: Hunter-Nin.

Minato and Hiruzen immediately took off into the house with ear-piercing squeals; their favorite part of the game by far was being chased by the 'dangerous nukenin.' Haru dodged out of the way of the four-year-old's clumsy charge attack, and ran after the pair of three-year-old blonds. He allowed the two to maintain a narrow lead for several minutes as they all scurried around the house, and he let Hikari almost grab him a few times.

Finally he cornered the twins in the living room. "Mwahaha! What are you going to do now, little shinobi?"

"I safe you!" Hikari yelled jumping over to them. "Shuriken-ju-shu!" She threw a few toy shuriken at Haru, and he dramatically fell to his knees.

"I've been struck! What power is this?"

"Do-don ju-shu!" the twins screamed, piling on top of Haru and "pinning" him to the ground.

He flailed around and yelled, "Oh, no! I'm being buried alive!" All three children laughed at his antics. He suddenly latched onto Hikari's wrist and pulled her down while saying, "Kawarimi no jutsu!"**4** Then he rolled enough to topple the squirming pair of toddlers onto their cousin.

Haru stood up and wiggled his fingers threateningly. "I've got you now!"

"No!" Hikari screamed. "I haf Sharingan! Gen-ju-shu!"

Haru made exaggerated motions of looking around. "Where did you go? You can't escape me. Aha!" He walked over to the couch and pointed at empty air. "I found you! I will defeat you with my great power!"

"Go'chu," three voices yelled form behind him, and like he expected, Haru was pushed down onto the couch. His three cousins piled on top of him to keep him in place, and crowed in triumph.

"_Children_," a low voice said from the doorway. All four looked up at Sasuke, who motioned for them to come close.

"Chichi, we won!" Hikari proclaimed. Sasuke gave her a tiny smile, and poked her forehead, before turning serious again.

"_It is almost time for dinner,_" he said. "_What language am I speaking?_"

"_English!_" they dutifully answered, though the twins slurred it rather badly.

"_And what does that mean, Haru?_"

"_We will be speaking English during dinner, Uncle._"

"_And what is the first rule about that, Hikari?_"

"_No shaying no Engrish words._"

"_And what is the second rule, Minato?_"

"_Issha Shecwet._"

"_And what happens if you tell secrets, Hiruzen?_"

The toddler looked down and scuffed his foot. He had been guilty of accidentally breaking that rule last month; thankfully Tomota-chan had dismissed the call of '_wanna pway_' as Hiruzen being weird. "_De-pwined._"

"_Do any of you wish to be disciplined?_"

"_No!_"

"_So will any of you speak English outside the house?_"

"_No!_"

"_Good, now come sit at the table._"

It was a familiar routine. Almost every other day the household would speak English for a set amount of time, and every time they did the rules were gone over. However, Haru's mind went back to the conversation he had had with Naruto. 'There's a lot about yourself that you don't know,' he had said.

It wasn't unusual for a clan kid to learn how to keep secrets at an early age, and any slips were disciplined with extreme prejudice. Clan Secrets and Techniques were passed on quickly so that they could be used as soon as the child graduated the Academy.

Hikari was expected to practice with shuriken and kunai daily, and would be taught Katon in a couple years; both her and baby Itachi were put to bed with stories about the proper and improper use of Sharingan. The twins already knew the first basic kata for the Gentle Fist, and they often practiced with their cousin Hizashi even though the other boy was a year younger - and no doubt baby Makoto will be taught just as quickly. Haru was sure that Shun-chan could draw storage seals already because he had seen her practicing in the dirt last year; it was only for a few seconds before her mother had viciously destroyed the drawing and marched the girl back home. Shikadai-kun and Inoaya-kun were both caught practicing their clans' special hand seals together without adult supervision a few weeks ago, and the sound scolding by their respective mothers could be heard across Konoha.

Secrets were a normal and accepted part of shinobi life – and keeping them secret could be the difference between life and death one day.

No, what caught Haru's attention was just how strange it was that one of their secrets was being able to speak a second language. As far as he had learned in the Academy, there were no Nations that spoke differently than they did in the Land of Fire – minor variations in dialect not withstanding. If nowhere spoke English, then what was the point in learning it? That's not to mention the biweekly meetings he had with Yamanaka-san, where she taught and drilled him in vocabulary, pronunciation, foreign etiquette, and foreign history. None of it made sense in the context of the Elemental Nations, so why was it treated like a Clan Secret?

He was graduating as a recognized adult in less than three years. If his family wouldn't tell him before then, he would make them tell him after. He could be patient until that time.

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

Taka means "Hawk"

Chichi is the formal way to say "father", though not as formal as if "-ue" was added (chichi-ue); this is a very specific honorific used to designate "one who is above"

**1:** Virtual banana bread for those of you who get the reference :)

**2:** In my mind, Tsunade gave Naruto the correct passwords to get an audience with Higurashi Sota, who could get him in touch with Yamanaka Meino, but left it up to Naruto how to conceal his identity so that only Meino was aware of the SS-Mission. The ANBU Taka that the Naru-clone was pretending to be is Neji, because of course my boy would be in ANBU.

**3:** Don't know if that's true, but we never actually see any Yamanaka rifling through Naruto's brain (or any other Jinchuriki's brain), so for the purposes of this story, that's what we're going with.

**4:** Body-Substitution Technique, seen typically with a random log; though in this instance Haru is just pretending.

All kids mentioned are children of the Konoha Twelve. If anyone wants to know who they are, then leave a review or send me a message and I will put it in the Notes of the next chapter.


	8. Chapter 7: Play the Hand Dealt

**Note:** Higurashi Sota is the name of Higurashi Kagome's little brother in the anime Inuyasha. Good job to those of you who noticed! I thought it was a fun Easter egg.

**The Kids** mentioned in the previous chapter are, in order of appearance:

Uchiha Hikari (age 4, daughter of Sasuke and Sakura)

Uzumaki Minato and Hiruzen (age 3, sons of Naruto and Hinata)

Nara Tomota (age 3, daughter of Shikamaru and Temari)

Uchiha Itachi (age 10 months, son of Sasuke and Sakura)

Hyuuga Hizashi (age 2, son of Neji (and OC Yuki))

Hyuuga Makoto (age 3 months, daughter of Neji)

Shun Lee (age 7, daughter of Rock* and Tenten) *interestingly, Rock Lee is the only one who puts his family name second like Westerners do, I imagine his children carry on the unusual tradition.

Nara Shikadai (age 5, son of Shikamaru and Temari)

Yamanaka Inoaya (age 5, son of Ino and Sai)

* * *

November 1991

"Use the door, Usuratonkachi,**1**" Sasuke drawled from across the room.

"Make me, Sasuke-teme," Naruto shot back automatically. He finished climbing in through the window, and stuck his tongue out at the Uchiha's back for good measure.

"Grow up," Sasuke said, still facing away from the window. It looked like he was trying to put baby proof locks on the kitchen cupboards – smart, since they likely held shinobi gear – and doing very well, despite it being a two handed job normally.

"You weren't even looking!" Naruto complained, flopping onto the couch in the best way to take up the most space.

"Don't have to: you're an immature man-child."

"And you're a cocky-"

"Naruto!" Sakura cut in sharply. She entered the kitchen with Haru in her arms, though now he was awake and babbling. "Not in front of the child."

"He'll hear it eventually."

"That's not the point!"

"Oi, stop arguing like a married couple in my house," Sasuke said, finishing up and walking over to join them.

"You jealous?" Naruto asked with a broad grin. "You just had to say you wanted in on the action, _Sasuke-kuuuuun_. Everyone thinks we're all together anyway.**2**" The Uchiha's face turned a light shade of green, and he flung a kunai at the blond's face - which was casually caught.

"We have a mission," Sakura hissed pointedly, face mildly red. "And I have a report."

The atmosphere changed quickly. Levity faded away into gravity instead. Naruto sat upright and Sasuke took a seat next to him. Sakura set Haru down on the ground, where he could crawl and play with a new stuffed dog, then sat across from the boys in an armchair.

"Except for the cut on his forehead, and mild chakra exhaustion, Haru is in perfect health," she reported formally. "The results of several diagnostic scans confirmed that there is a secondary presence alive inside the scar tissue. It was attached sloppily – either the work of an amateur, or an accident – and is not enough to be fully cognizant, nor woken to a state of full cognition."

She took a deep breath, her professional mask cracking a bit. "Unfortunately, the second presence has deep roots in Haru already. It is able to mildly influence mood, and it is believed to be able to influence thought once the connection has time to mature. I am unable to remove it at this time because doing so could permanently damage Haru's chakra flow to his head, and potentially damage his mind as well. His chakra network should be strong enough to handle the strain of removal between the ages of seven and ten.

"Until that time, the Medical Sealer**3** was able to write a seal that put the presence into a dormant state, unable to be woken from an internal influence. However, there is a chance that an external influence might awaken the presence. If that happens the chances of it rapidly growing in strength and influence are incredibly high. There is also the complication of factoring in his magical network.

"In a secret diagnostic I ran, I checked the appearance of Haru's magical core as well as his chakra coils. The magic is pooled in his heart with two main 'arteries' flowing towards his head and his right arm – a smaller 'artery' is also flowing towards his left arm. There are some small 'capillaries' off each 'artery', but for the most part it does not branch any father. However, most of his magical network is in near or direct contact with his chakra network, meaning there is a high probability of them influencing each other, especially once he begins chakra control training.

"If this happens, then the estimated time for being able to remove the presence changes as well. His chakra must be stable and strong in order to not cause damage, and it is unknown how long it will take his magic to also stabilize," Sakura finished her report. She held herself stiffly, and both her teammates could see tears hiding in the corners of her eyes.

"You didn't fail to heal him," Sasuke pointed out.

"But I couldn't _actually_ heal him."

"Haru-chan is fine," Naruto said, gesturing at the baby gnawing on the table leg. "And you're going to heal him for sure, you just can't yet."

"Think of it as a very long healing process," Sasuke said. "A full recovery is simply a few years away."

Sakura laughed a little and swiped at her eyes. "Thank you. I needed to hear that."

"Anytime. May I see the seal?" Naruto asked.

Sakura nodded and retrieved the infant, who was now playing with his feet, and sat him in her lap. Then, with one finger on each temple, she gently sent a current of chakra across his head. Haru's forehead lit up with calligraphy, the elegant script centered around the lightening bolt shaped scar.

"Does it show itself every time chakra is run past it?" Sasuke asked as Naruto engrossed himself in the complicated seal work. The blond was carefully tracing the lines with his finger, and muttering under his breath.

"Yes," Sakura said.

"That'll be a problem once he gets to the Academy and starts learning chakra control," the Uchiha said.

"Nothing wrong with wearing a headband all the time," Naruto said, leaning back. "I wore goggles for over five years, and Neji wore a second headband under his hitai-ate for the longest time. We'll just make sure that Haru-chan always has something covering his scar when he leaves the house."

"Your verdict, O Master of Seals?" Sakura asked, placing Haru back on the floor.

"Ha, ha, very funny. It's more complex than what I can comfortably work with, but I was able to get a grasp for all the different components and overall how it works. Your Medical Sealer does good work; it looks like he added a component to prevent any external damage from accidentally 'opening up' the scar tissue as well. Give me a few more years and I might be able to make a second seal to go on top that will prevent an outside influence from awakening the presence," Naruto said.

"And it really is sealed?" Sakura asked.

"I can hardly sense it anymore, if that's what you mean," Naruto answered. "It certainly feels asleep."

The medic-nin's shoulders relaxed with a sigh. "Thank heavens."

"How were things on your end?" Sasuke asked.

"Great!" Naruto grinned. "Yamanaka Meino is going to be meeting with us weekly at Training Ground 35."

"That's the one surrounded by waterfalls right?" Sakura checked. "It's a good way to make sure we will never be overheard, even if someone is both dumb enough to spy on us and able enough to avoid our traps."

"What about Hinata?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto tried to keep his grin up, but both he and his nakama knew it was fake. He dropped it a few seconds later. "She knows everything; I'll even bring her along for language lessons, though it isn't necessary for her to learn."

"Naruto..."

"I had to seal my own fiancee. What do you want me to say, Teme? 'Oh, yes, everything is fine and dandy, nothing wrong here!'"

"Did you force her to take it?"

"No!"

"Then what's the problem? You haven't done anything wrong, and you can remove it once the mission in over," the Uchiha pointed out. For a second it almost looked like Naruto was going to punch him, but the anger drained away, leaving the blond exhausted.

"I'm not okay, but I will be," he finally said.

"Good," both Sasuke and Sakura said. All three chuckled a little. That little saying had kept them all going during the first year of Sasuke's house arrest, when they weren't sure if the Council would keep their word to not have him executed for his 'crimes against Konoha.'**4**

"And you, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"I just finished baby-proofing my house, and the guest room is cleaned out and ready for all his things. I also set up baby areas in your apartments for when it's your turn to watch him," Sasuke reported. Neither bothered to comment on how he avoided mentioning the numerous altered memories; that issue had already been hashed out before they separated at the Hokage Tower.

"And are we sure this is the best arrangement?" Naruto asked, voice bordering on a whine. "I don't think I'm fit to be responsible for a tiny human."

"Which is why all three of us are staying here this week while I teach you two boys how to care for a baby," Sakura said imperiously. Then her expression turned feral. "And what better time to start than now? I believe it's time for Haru's diaper change."

Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other, silently agreeing that they were in for a week of pure torture, and there was no escape. Haru happily burbled.

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

**1:** Usuratonkatchi is a name Sasuke calls Naruto the entire series. It roughly means "thin hammer" which is an item that is useless, thus implying the same about the person being called it; it is often translated as "useless" or "loser".

**2:** I'm not personally into the poli, but even with filters I can't count how many Fan Fics I've come across with all three in a romantic relationship (or one where they pretend to be in order to make people back off).

**3:** With how useful seals are I doubt that their only used by the "Great Seal Masters" like Jiraiya and Minato; and during the Fourth Great War we saw whole divisions of soldiers dedicated to sealing the reanimated bodies. It makes sense to me that there are a few specialists who use seals strictly for healing; they would be the equivalent of a brain surgeon (highly trained/specialized, hard to come by, and in high demand).

**4:** Since Sasuke's only real crime against Konoha (other than going rogue) was killing Danzo (whom no one grieved the loss of) and their newly minted savior (Naruto) was vouching for him, I imagine Konoha was willing to let him return alive. At the same time, I imagine most of the other Kage's would have wanted him dead, either for personal reasons (Raikage) or on principle (Tsuchikage and Mizukage). As such, political types would find it very appealing to execute a criminal in order to keep the newfound peace with the other nations.


	9. Chapter 8: By Any Other Name

**Note:** I am starting a Poll for this story. What should the elemental affinity for Haru/Harry be?

You will be allowed to chose two elements. The element in first place will be his affinity, and second place will be his first attempt to branch out. In the event of a tie, he will have a duel affinity. The Poll will be open until I post Chapter 11 (or 12, if you're counting the prologue).

* * *

September 1997

It was nearing midnight when Haru slipped out of the house. He wasn't under any illusion that his escape had gone undetected, but he hoped that his uncle… his guard would let him have this time away. His whole world had come crashing down less than six hours ago, and he still didn't know what to think about it.

After dinner the younger kids were bustled off to bed, and Haru was sat down in the living room. It almost felt like he was being interrogated – being surrounded by the four adults – but he wasn't the one talking. After a few initial questions at the start, Haru had been too stunned to talk. He had excused himself to his room as soon as the four stopped speaking, and he had been sitting in shock ever since.

Sneaking up to the Hokage Monument, Haru let his feet guide him to his favorite perch: a lock of hair sticking up in the middle of the Yondaime's head. This was the place he would come whenever he felt the need to get away to himself and contemplate life. The bad, like when he experienced hazing at school due to his young age, or the time he accidentally spied on his uncle… on Naruto while he was comforting a grieving and very drunk Inuzuka Kiba; and the good, like when his aunt… when Hinata announced she was having a baby, and when he got the highest grade in his class's final exam. Those were all times he came out here, among many more. Now, when he wasn't sure about anything anymore, seemed a good time as well.

His whole life had been a lie... Alright, not his _whole_ life. He had known that he wasn't born a citizen of Fire, and it wasn't like Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, or Hinata pretended to be his parents. But all this time he hadn't been their ward, he had been their mission target. They were his bodyguards, paid an exorbitant amount to fulfill mission parameters: keep Harry Potter alive until age eleven.

And wasn't that a shock as well! His name, his real name – the name his parents gave him! – was not Haru, it was Harry. He wasn't even born in the Great Nations, or the smaller ones; heck, he wasn't ethnically from anywhere in his known world! His parents, and he himself, were British citizens of England, a whole world away.

If his parents were still alive he never would have heard of, much less crossed paths with, a shinobi, let alone Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, or Hinata. But his parents weren't alive, because…

Haru's hand lifted to his headband. Suddenly it was too tight, too constrictive, too much, just too much! He leaped up and ran, while his fingers tore at the cloth. Faster and faster he pumped his legs, harder and harder he gasped for air, and finally, finally, he ripped the band off his head.

A moment later he slammed to his knees on the edge of a forest pool. The half-moon shone enough light into the clearing for Haru to see his reflection in the mirror-like water. He overlooked the lean, muscular body in favor of studying the face. It, like always, was a little rounded with green eyes and black hair, but Haru felt like he was seeing it for the first time. This… this was the face of a British boy named Harry Potter, not a Leaf shinobi-in-training named Tokonomidori Haru.

And crowning it all was the scar. A zig-zag blemish caused by the jutsu that murdered his parents. Also, it was currently inhabited by said murderer, or at least a portion of his essence.

Haru felt his chakra flare and begin rushing through his network in response to his rising anger. Black lines flickered into existence on his skin. Symbols and lines and characters, round and round and round the scar. The murderer.

His fingernails drew blood as he slashed at the mark that had dictated his whole life without his knowledge. Red rivulets were blinked out of his eyes only to roll downwards and drip off the point of his chin. He could feel the seal inked into his skin hum as it repelled the damage from the scar itself; only the surrounding tissue bled.

"Get Out!" Haru screamed. He punched his reflection, and ripped at his scar. "Get Out! Get Out! Get Out! GET! OUT!"

He snatched a kunai out of his pouch. A hand grabbed his wrist. "That's enough, Haru-kun," Sasuke rumbled from behind him somewhere.

Haru went limp, his gasping breaths the only sound in the clearing. It took a great amount of effort to uncurl his fingers and drop the knife. Only after hearing the dull thud of the blade contacting the dirt did he say, "You can let go now... please."

Sasuke let go of Haru's wrist. Haru edged away from the pond and his hideous reflection. "W-why... How did you find me?" he asked, not looking at the man he once called Oji-san.

"Naruto came to tell me that you had left while feeling very upset. I simply went to where you would seek out comfort. It was easy to track you the rest of the way," the man said. He situated himself so that he was sitting comfortably on the ground within arm's reach of Haru.

For a while they sat in silence. Then Sasuke reached over and turned Haru to face him, using his sleeve to dab at the blood. "Your Ba-san will kill me if I let these wounds get infected," he said.

Haru turned his face away. "She's not my Ba-san."

"No, not by blood," Sasuke agreed, turning Haru's face back by the chin. "But you knew this, so why does it matter?"

"You're just my bodyguards," Haru said, submitting to the cleaning. "You're being paid to look after me."

"And you think we only see you as a mission." It wasn't a question.

"Well, yeah."

"Then we have failed as parents."

Haru opened his mouth, but was interrupted by a large wad of gauze being pressed to his forehead and Sasuke ordering him to hold it in place. He waited impatiently as Sasuke wrapped a bandage around his head.

Finally the man said, "That'll hold until Sakura can fix you up."

"What did you mean?" Haru demanded.

"Just what I said."

"But I don't get it!"

"Haru-kun," Sasuke leaned closer, locking their eyes. "Do you really believe that everything from the past six years is just because of a mission?"

The tone made the boy pause. "Your mission parameters are to keep me alive until age eleven and return me to England able to blend in with the people there." Sasuke nodded. "And you've done that so far: I'm alive, and I know a lot of English culture and I can speak and read and write it really good." Sasuke nodded again. Haru hesitated. "You… you didn't have to treat me like a nephew?"

Sasuke sighed and reached into a pocket. "Perhaps this will help clear things up for you."

The man handed over a large square of thick paper that had been bound with a gold ribbon; in the corner was the official Hokage stamp. In fancy script it read:

**_CERTIFICATE OF GUARDIANSHIP_**

Konohagakure recognizes Uchiha Sasuke as fit for guardianship and accepts his claim of responsibility for Tokonomidori Haru

Uchiha Sasuke does hereby take Tokonomidori Haru as his lawful ward, henceforth Uchiha Sasuke will be given all rights as a guardian and Tokonomidori Haru will be given all rights as a child of Konohagakure to become a citizen upon coming of age or graduating the Academy

** Signed:** _Uchiha Sasuke_ 11/3/1991

**Witnessed:** _Uzumaki Naruto_ 11/3/1991

**Witnessed:**_ Haruno Sakura_ 11/3/1991

**Authorized:** _Godaime Hokage Senju Tsunade_

"There is nothing fake about that document, or what it stands for," Sasuke said. "I don't treat you _like_ a nephew; you _are_ my nephew. This is – and will always be – your home, regardless of where you came from before."

Haru traced the letters with his finger, his eyes were beginning to sting. "Even though I'm really Harry Potter, not Tokonomidori Haru?"

"Haru or Harry, it doesn't matter to me, you are still mine. Does it make that much of a difference to you?"

Haru's fingers were trembling, and he handed back the document before his tears could smudge it. "Oji-san?"

"Ee?"

Haru threw his arms around his uncle, sobbing on the man's shoulder. The sheer relief that his family really, truly loved him – and hadn't been pretending all this time – coursed through his body, and he all but draped himself on Sasuke as his knees went weak.

Once he had a handle on himself and his emotions again, Haru said, "No, it doesn't make a difference. I'm still me. I'm still the best in my class at the Academy, and I'm still going to be a great shinobi. I just... have magic, too, I guess."

"That's good to hear."

"Will Sakura-basan really be able to get rid of the person in my scar?"

"He's less than a person at this point, and yes, she will," Sasuke said. "Since you're finally at the stage where your chakra network should start to strengthen and stabilize you will receive a semi-annual check-up to monitor the progress. As soon as she's able, Sakura is going to get that thing out of you."

"Okay." He nuzzled into Sasuke's hold. The late hour and the long cry after an emotional whirlwind of a day left him absolutely drained.

"It's long past your bedtime, and you have school in the morning," Sasuke reminded him. "Do you want to go back to Naruto's or come to my house?"

Haru yawned. "Yours. Carry me?"

"Just this once," Sasuke said, hoisting him up. Within a few steps, Haru was fast asleep.

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

I do believe that this is the first chapter without little Author's Notes sprinkled around. There simply wasn't anything that hadn't already been explained either in a previous chapter or in this chapter... if you spot anything I overlooked on accident send me a message or review and I'll clear it up right away.


	10. Chapter 9: Haru's Resolve

March 2000

Haru lightly bounced on the balls of his feet, drawing in his breaths in a rhythmic pattern to keep himself calm. This was it. This was what he had been working so hard to achieve. Just beyond this classroom door lay the test to determine whether it had all been good enough. If _he_ was good enough.

Squaring his shoulders, Haru pushed open the door and…

"Hey, Kid! Wrong room."

"You lost, second year?"

"Better scram before a teacher catches you," a purple haired girl said, not looking up from where she was polishing a tanto.**1**

"Oi, beat it! We're getting ready for graduation, this isn't a place for a little brat."

Haru took an instinctive step back at the open hostility from most of the students in the room. It didn't help that everyone was between two and three years older, and twice his size or more. But he refused to be cowed. He had worked too hard to be turned away at the door.

"I'm in the right room," he said more confidently than he felt, deliberately taking a couple steps into the room. He raised his chin. "I'm here for the graduation exam."

"Yeah right!"

"You're what? Eight?"

"I'm nine!" he said. Honestly, just because he had a smaller frame than most did not mean that he was _that_ little.**2**

"So you think you can graduate after just three years of school?" one boy scoffed. He was broad with blue-black hair and an expression that could curdle milk. "What? Do you think you're the next Copy Ninja, huh?"

"Jiji-sensei… I mean Kakashi-san graduated after only a year in the Academy during a period of War. Of course I'm nothing like him." Haru took a few more steps forward, trying to maintain some semblance of control. "And I just finished my fourth year, for your information!"

"No way!"

"Haru-kun is correct," a low silky voice said from the doorway. Haru spun around to see the teacher who would be proctoring the exam. "Because Haru-kun started in the Academy a year early, and he went through the process to petition for early graduation, which was granted."

"Ohaiyou gozaimasu, Shino-sensei!" the whole class – and Haru – greeted.

"Ohaiyou," greeted the insect user. "Now, go to your seat, Haru-kun, the exam is about to begin."

Haru scrambled to the only open seat in the class. He internally screamed since it was right in front of the mean-looking kid, and he could already feel the hateful stare being leveled at his back. Thankfully he was right next to the purple girl, who casually mimed a rude sign at the boy to turn his attention on to her instead.

Sheets of paper were handed out, and Haru got ready to do battle.

* * *

December 1998

"Haru-kun, will you help me clear the table?" Sakura asked, beginning to gather the used plates and empty breakfast platters.

"Hai!" Haru agreed, grabbing the cups and chopsticks.

Hikari and Itachi quickly scrambled away from the table, calling for their father to bring them to the park. Sasuke huffed in fond exasperation and, after checking if his wife needed anything - "Hai, I've been craving pickled tomatoes if you can find any, that or radishes... pickled radishes" - and kissing her goodbye, he left with the rambunctious five and two year olds.

The next few minutes were quiet and amiable. Sakura washed the dishes, and Haru dried and put them away.

About half way through the pile, Sakura asked, "So, would you like to stay up until midnight this year or wake up to see the sunrise?"

"Actually, Ba-san, I'd like to stay up between midnight and sunrise this year."

It was a New Year's tradition that adults of Konoha would stay up all night between the old and the new year. According to superstition, a person who could remain awake between midnight and sunrise was guaranteed to succeed in their New Year's Resolution. As such most clans – or groups of families without clans – would get together in a massive celebration that would be boisterous until midnight, then simmer into a quiet camaraderie for the next several hours, and finish with another cheery celebration to welcome the first sunrise of the year.**3**

Sakura raised an eyebrow, suds dripped off her arms as she propped her hands on her hips. "I know that you are very mature for your age, Haru-kun, but you are still only eight years old." - "Eight and a half!" - "Your body needs its sleep if you want to stay healthy and at the top of your class."

"I know, Ba-san," Haru said, "But it's really, really important. I gotta make sure that my resolution comes true!"

The pinkette softened her face. "And what is it exactly?"

"I..." Haru turned to the dish-rack, but without Sakura washing there was nothing for him to dry. He turned back to the woman. "I want to graduate the Academy early."

Sakura frowned. "Ryu-chan, that wouldn't exactly be possible for you this year."

"I know that," Haru cut in, "I mean for next year. If I work really hard this year, then I can graduate early for sure."

"You are already the youngest in your class by a large margin. What brought this on all of a sudden?"

"If I wait to graduate on time I'll be ten. That will only give me one chance to become a Chunin in the exams three months later. It's too risky: I can't guarantee that I'll make it all the way through to the final round. If I graduate even just a year early then I'll have three chances to become a Chunin before I have to leave for England."**4**

Sakura knelt down so that her eyes were level with Haru's. "You know that you don't have to be a Chunin when you go to England, right?"

"I know," Haru conceded. "But it'd be a lot better if I was. If I was a Chunin then it wouldn't be strange if I got a long term recon mission by myself, where it would be if I was a Genin. And as a Genin I'd be leaving behind a team, and that goes against everything we believe in Konoha! You don't just abandon your comrades!

"Also," he continued, "If I become a Chunin on the first or second try then I would have either six or twelve months of field experience as a shinobi, which can only help. No one, not even Meino-sensei, knows what Wizards are really like, it's better if I'm as prepared as possible before I go."

Sakura placed a hand on Haru's cheek, cupping that side of his face. It was still damp, but Haru nuzzled in anyway. "It won't be easy," Sakura said, "Petitioning to graduate early means that you will be tested with a more difficult exam, specially designed to make sure you know everything from the number of years you would be skipping. Even skipping one year is very, very hard to do."

"That's why I'll spend all of this year working extra hard," Haru said. "I'm already the best in my class, I'm sure that I can learn more advanced stuff too."

"You will have very little time outside of training and studying to spend with friends," Sakura warned.

Haru swallowed hard. "Th...that's okay. I… I won't be around very much after I turn eleven anyway..."

"Which is why you need to treasure your time with them now." The woman sighed; though glossy, Haru's eyes were determined. "Very well, I will talk to your uncles and Hirio-sensei, and tomorrow we will put together a training and study regimen for the next year. As for tonight, you will be sleeping instead of attending the party. I promise to wake you right before midnight."

"You mean it!?" Haru threw himself into her arms. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Sakura laughed, and gave him a gentle squeeze. "Now off with you. I believe you had plans to see Shun-chan and your Academy friends this morning, so get going."

"But..." Haru glanced at the remaining dishes.

Sakura shooed him away with her hands. "I am more than capable of handling the last little bit on my own. Now scram, gaki."

Laughing, Haru ran out of the house. He eagerly looked forward to that night and the coming year.

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

Jiji is one way to say "Grandpa"; it is extremely casual and a very literal translation would be "old man". I think it's both logical and hilarious that Haru/Harry would grow up calling Kakashi Jiji the same way Naruto called Sarutobi Hiruzen Jiji.

Ohaiyou is how to say "good morning", the addition of gozaimasu makes it more formal and polite

**1:** "This is a type of dagger with single or double-edged blade whose length ranges between 15 cm [~6 in] and 30 cm [~12 in]. Historically, it has been used as a stabbing sword. It is a straight weapon rather than curved." (katanasale. /blogs/katanasale/types-of-japanese-swords-an-exclusive-guide)

*The citation wasn't working properly, so just manually add in "com" after "katanasale." to get the proper website.*

**2:** In the Harry Potter series it is up in the air as to whether Harry's small frame is due to genetics or due to malnutrition; I decided to go the genetics route for this one so that he still had the small build that would fit the position of Seeker best.

**3:** It was too much work to give the Elemental Nations their own unique calendar system, so I kept it the same as the modern day Western calendar even though there is no logical reasoning for it. Instead I gave them an interesting New Year's tradition.

**4:** Does it ever say how many times the Chunin Exams are held per year? I don't remember, but in my mind they happen twice at six month intervals: June, with the final tournament in July, and December, with the final tournament in January. The Chunin Exams seemed to happen _really_ quick after Team 7's graduation - everyone making a big deal over rookies joining notwithstanding - so I thought a period of three months after graduation was enough time for them to get experience under their belts and still be fresh-faced Genin.


	11. Chapter 10: Meet the Family

March 2000

Haru grinned as he adjusted his hitaiate**1** for the umpteenth time. He was used to wearing something on his head, but there was something special about this. The gently curved metal plate conformed to his forehead and proudly proclaimed to the world that he was a Shinobi of the Leaf.

He had done it. He was a Genin now! All that was left was to be assigned his teammates and Jonin-sensei. The anticipation had him all but vibrating in his seat. He had arrived at the classroom early so that he could get a chair in the corner – away from the more antagonistic graduates – however with each passing minute playing on his taught nerves, he thought perhaps he should have come a bit later.

Finally, finally, finally! After an agony of waiting, Shino walked into the room.

"Ohaiyou," Shino said.

"Ohaiyou gozaimasu, Shino-sensei!" the class chimed.

"I'm sure you are all excited to hear who your new teams are, but I will hold off on that. Because it is important that you hear this now.

"You are entering the world after being coddled and fed for the last few years. Like fledglings being pushed out of the nest, you will now be learning to fly, and you will fall several times while you learn. The purpose of your team is to guide your attempts until your wings strengthen and you can take flight on your own; likewise, you guide their attempts and help them rise to greater heights.

"You will form bonds deeper than you ever imagined possible: you will laugh together, cry together, soar together, stumble together, work together, and fight together, or you will die trying. Take heed that regardless of what relationships you had in this classroom, the slate is wiped clean as of right now. The names I list off are to be your flesh and blood until such time as you leave this earth." Shino concluded with a long pause during which Haru could feel his unseen eyes boring into the rows of students.

Eventually Shino dropped his gaze to the folder in front of him. "Now, we shall begin. Team 1..."

Haru let his mind wander, keeping only just enough of his attention on the man so he would notice his name being called. The opening speech had hit hard, especially in the context of Haru's future. Having such a tight relationship with a team was something he dreamed about, especially if it could be half as strong as the bonds he saw in his uncles and aunts' generation.

Unfortunately, Haru would be gone from the Leaf in a year and a half, and there was no guarantee he would be back. At the very least his visits home would be small breaks in between large stretches of absence. That was not an atmosphere conducive to building unwavering friendship – and he was no Naruto to overcome such an obstacle through sheer force of will. The most he could hope for were two teammates who were tolerant of him and formed a tight bond with each other, so that when he left there were no actual holes in the team.

"...Tokonomidori Haru, Yokazeha Aiko, and Toubokuyami Isamu," Shino said, bringing Haru's thoughts back to the present.

"Why do I have to be stuck with the baby!?" the blue-black haired boy from yesterday yelled, his expression even angrier – and more frightening – than it had been.

"Suck it up, Aho, at least you're not stuck dealing with _you_," the purple haired girl said. She wasn't polishing her tanto today, rather a pair of sai blades**2** were being methodically worked over with an oil cloth.

"You wanna fight, Kiraiko?"**3**

"As if mucking around with you would be considered a proper fight."

"Enough," Shino said, cutting through whatever caustic words were going to be spat out next. The two slowly lowered themselves back into their seats; Haru hadn't even noticed when they stood up, being too appalled at being shoved into a team that was the exact opposite of ideal. The teacher continued, "Your Jonin instructor will be Sarutobi Konohamaru."

Haru startled. Kono-jisan? He hadn't even known the man had applied to take a Genin team this year. He got another shock when the usually cheerful man-child stuck his head into the room with a grave expression on his face and said, "My team, Training Yard 10, you have 15 minutes or else."

The boy stood and sprinted from the room, his new 'teammates' doing the same. He had never seen Konohamaru so serious before, and he really, really did not want to find out what the 'or else' entailed.

* * *

The three Genin got to Training Yard 10 with a few minutes to spare, but Konohamaru didn't look impressed. He still had the unnaturally serious face, and he curtly told them to sit with such a stern voice that Haru cringed a little.

The man sat down so the four were in a rough circle. "Alright, before we get into the reason I brought you here, I want introductions. State your name, age, strong suits and skills – be they from the Academy or not – and something about yourself not related to your career."

Haru swallowed; being put on the spot was making his mind go blank. If he opened his mouth, he wasn't sure what would come out. It would be either incredibly profound or ridiculously foolish.

"Yokazeha Aiko,**4**" said the girl, her spine rigid. "Twelve; in accordance with my clan I have been training with blades of all descriptions since very young and am most proficient with a tanto, twin sai, kodachi,**5** and ninjaken,**6** and I am learning the Futon Jutsu to go along with each. As for me, I don't like my name, call me Yokazeha."

"Why not?" The words slipped out of Haru's mouth before he could stop them. He blushed a little as the attention turned on him. "I mean, one of my little cousins – she's turning three next month – is named Aiko,**7** and I think it's a very pretty name."

Yokazeha snarled. "I'm a kunoichi and a user of kenjutsu. I. Don't. Do. Pretty."

"Yeah, loveless here should have been named 'Kiraiko'," the older boy sneered.

"Enough," Konohamaru cut in, he directed his hard gaze at the most recent speaker.

The boy snorted. "Fine, whatever. I'm Toubokuyami Isamu,**8** thirteen, and I can tree-walk already," there was a bit of smugness in that statement. Haru thought it was deserved since that was a skill not taught in the Academy, and Isamu didn't come from a clan to teach it to him early. He had to have learned it on his own through observation and trial and error. Apparently Yokazeha didn't agree with Haru's silent assessment, because he caught her rolling her eyes.

Konohamaru nodded. "And about yourself?"

"What's there to know? I'm just me, not some hoity-toity clan kid." He glared at Yokazeha. "Let's get on with this."

"Very well." The man pinned Haru with a look, and the boy swallowed.

"I'm Haru… Tokonomidori Haru. I'm nine, and I'm really good a making traps, and I know the very basics of sealing – like I can write my own exploding tags and change the configuration depending on if I want more heat, smoke, or noise. And, um, I… I come from a civilian family, but I was raised by shinobi after my parents died."

"Right then," Konohamaru said. "As for myself: I'm Sarutobi Konohamaru, I'm twenty-five, I have too many skills to list, but I will say that I'm the only one besides the Hokage and his Shadow to have mastered the Rasengan. I'm married and I have two kids so far – my wife and I want a third someday.**9**

"Now on to business." If possible, Konohamaru's face got even darker. "You may have passed the Academy Exam, but you still have to pass mine. I was chosen to lead this squad of Genin, but I haven't accepted you yet. On my word you will either continue on or be stripped of your hitaiate and returned to the Academy. Come back here tomorrow morning, eight o'clock sharp. I will be giving you the most hellish test you've yet to encounter. Prepare yourselves." And he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

Haru arrived at the training ground fifteen minutes early. Yokazeha was already there doing warm-up stretches; she sent him a look that made it clear she didn't like the company. He quickly moved off to the side and started his own routine – despite having had his morning workout already.

The familiar actions allowed his mind to wander. He had explained everything to his family the night before. From Konohamaru – who wasn't himself – to his new teammates – who really, really didn't like each other – to the second test they had been issued. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all exchanged a weighty glance, then smiled at Haru and refused to offer any insight. It was supremely annoying, especially since he knew they knew something he wasn't getting.

He had spent much of the night going over the day prior and trying to find what he missed, which meant he got very little sleep. On the plus side, he had also kept his hands busy, so now he was loaded down with explosive tags, minor storage seals, tripwires, and various prank supplies.

Isamu arrived two minutes before eight. From the sweat on his brow and grime on his hands, Haru guessed he had just come from his own personal training. The older boy scowled at the two – and really, didn't he have any other expression? - and started his own stretches, which weren't nearly as refined or fluid as Yokazeha's and Haru's.

Eight o'clock on the dot, Konohamaru arrived, casually stepping out from behind a tree, and making Haru wonder how long he had been there. He was dressed like the day before – in Jonin standard uniform and blue scarf – the only difference was a large scroll hanging from his hip.

Haru couldn't help his eyes being drawn to it. There was something about that scroll that was calling his attention, and he couldn't put his finger on it. It looked ordinary enough, so what was setting off warning bells in his mind? He was getting ready to feel it out with his magic when Konohamaru spoke.

"Your target is this scroll. You must take it from me by noon, which means you will have just under four hours to complete the assignment. Failure to complete your mission will mean returning to the Academy. As you will notice, there is only one. That is because I don't want to waste my time with Genin who don't know or can't accomplish what needs to be done in order to succeed. Your test begins now."

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

Aho roughly means "fool" or "simpleton"

Ji-san (-jisan) is one way to say "Uncle", probably the most bland and generic version of "uncle" you can find

**1:** Hitaiate can almost literally be translated as "forehead protector" (ironic that so many characters in Naruto _don't_ wear it on their forehead), and is interchangeable with hitaigane which is a military issued headband with a metal plate added for extra protection.

**2:** Interestingly, sai were blunt-force weapons, not blades like we see in pop culture. They were primarily used by police officers against outlaws who used swords, since the sai could - when wielded properly - easily defend against large bladed weapons, and could incapacitate an enemy without killing them. Sai were always, _always_ used in pairs, and there were numerous different styles and sizes of sai. I decided to err on the side of pop culture and give my character bladed sai, since this is Naruto and we all know how historically accurate it is.

**3:** This is another mean play on a person's name (back in the prologue Haru called Kato "Bakato"). Ai is the word for love, kirau is the word for hate. It would be the same as calling a girl named Grace "Graceless" or Hope "Hopeless". Don't do that, it's mean.

**4:** Yokazeha's family name comes from two words I smashed together: Yokaze, meaning "night wind", and ha, meaning "blade (of grass)"; Aiko literally translates to "love child" but without the connotation we in the West give the term.

**5:** "Kodachi is basically a short or small tachi [long, curved sword for horseback] Japanese sword traditionally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan... It has a length of less than 60 cm [~23.5 in]... [it] was also available to the citizens and was carried by travelers, merchants and caravans as a self-defense weapon against bandits, highwaymen and brigands." (katanasale. /blogs/katanasale/types-of-japanese-swords-an-exclusive-guide)

*The citation wasn't working properly, so just manually add in "com" after "katanasale." to get the proper website.*

**6:** A sleek, straight sword used by the shinobi of feudal Japan, sometimes just called ninja rather than ninjaken (ken being a character than means sword, typically with a double-edge).

**7:** Personal head-canon; little-Aiko is the daughter of Karin and OC Ichirou. Not sure if Karin has/gets a family in Boruto, but I think it would be a tragedy of the highest magnitude if she and Naruto didn't officially recognize each other as cousins. Also, she deserves to find a man who genuinely loves her for her - rather than use her like Orochimaru and Sasuke - and have a family. She doesn't seem like she's the type who would continue the shinobi life if offered an out, so I made her a homemaker who is no longer burdened by the uses of her unique chakra. Whether her kids decide to become shinobi or remain civilians is up to them - though Naruto would likely move heaven and earth if anyone tried to use them the same way their mother was used, so they could safely enter the ranks as Shinobi of the Leaf.

**8:** Isamu's family name comes from two words put together as well: Touboku, meaning "fallen tree", and yami, meaning "darkness"; Isamu translates to "bravery" or "courage".

**9:** Again, personal head-canon; not sure if he is/gets married in Boruto but I really, really don't want the Sarutobi line to die out, so Konohamaru gets hitched and has himself some kids.

SORRY for how many ending notes I had! I didn't even realize there were this many, but I feel they can't be avoided. There is so much interesting culture surrounding Japanese weaponry, and I really wanted share the tidbits of language used in everyone's names, and I know there will be complaints if I don't explain my insertions of head-cannon.


	12. Chapter 11: To Be Well Tried

**Previously on Nin-Wizard:**

_Haru graduates the Academy, but gets stuck with a snobby clan girl and an angsty civilian boy for teammates!_

_Kono-jisan has become Konohamaru-sensei, and he's been acting weird!_

_"Your target is this scroll. You must take it from me by noon, which means you will have just under four hours to complete the assignment. Failure to complete your mission will mean returning to the Academy. As you will notice, there is only one. That is because I don't want to waste my time with Genin who don't know or can't accomplish what needs to be done in order to succeed. Your test begins now."_

* * *

March 2000

It was a slaughter. Haru huddled in the roots of a tree trying to get his breath back. He didn't know how long they had been at this, though the sun had moved significantly since Isamu had rushed Konohamaru at the start. The Jonin had systematically, and almost sadistically, undid each of the three's attacks no matter what angle they came at him from. Then, the second they had all paused to rally and try again, Konohamaru struck back.

Haru had only just managed to fight his way out of the Katon trap with the aid of his magic. He had no clue where his teammates were, or what condition they were in, or where Konohamaru was. The woods were entirely too quiet.

Getting his breathing under control, Haru slipped into a meditative state and sent his magic and chakra out in all directions. It was risky, anyone who was looking for chakra signatures – or sensitive to them in general – would feel his flare with the subtlety of a duel between Kage.

Isamu was closest, though he seemed to be stuck in one place. Yokazeha was moving – better yet, towards them – but she was much farther out. Konohamaru was beyond Haru's range, which meant he was at least half a mile away.

Not taking any chances, Haru crept towards Isamu as if the Jonin could jump out at him any second. When he got to where the older boy was, Haru was met with the strangest sight.

Isamu had apparently been caught in a trap that dangled him upside-down with everything except one hand tied securely in a cocoon of rope. The boy must have managed to swing his body with enough momentum to reach the trunk of the tree he was suspended from, and was now climbing it using only his hand and… his forehead!?

Haru blinked and rubbed his eyes. Nope, he wasn't seeing things. Isamu was channeling the chakra in his hand and forehead so precisely that he was able to tree-walk his way up to the branch that the end of the rope was tied to. That level of chakra control – especially in a brand new Genin – was incredible, and made Haru wonder how nasty a genjutsu from this guy would be. He didn't want to find out first hand.

Isamu, in the few seconds Haru stood in stunned silence, had finished crawling onto the branch and was quickly cutting himself free with his kunai. Haru made to go help, but was growled away. Isamu jumped down to land imposingly close to Haru about the same time Yokazeha walked out of the undergrowth. The girl looked like she had been in a fight with a bush and lost, there were so many leaves and twigs stuck to her hair and clothes. Haru rounded out the bedraggled picture with his singed hair and ash covered clothes.

"Well, that went well," Isamu snarled.

"Shut up, Aho," Yokazeha snapped. "If you hadn't gone charging in like a reckless idiot..."

"Like you poking your blades around in that pretty dance did anything," Isamu said.

"That set, paired with Futon: Shimiru Hachi,**1** is devastating."

"So why didn't you use your jutsu then, huh?"

Yokazeha's face twisted and her cheeks went red. Right before she averted her eyes, Haru thought he spotted a little extra moisture.

Isamu, however, was looking entirely too pleased. "You can't do it, right? Ha! That's rich. Miss Perfect Clan Kid can't do a jutsu she's supposed to be a master at."

"Shut Up!" Yokazeha lunged, but Isamu jumped up and landed in a crouch on a tree trunk above her head.

"Whatever, losers. I'm done wasting time. There's only an hour left to get that scroll, and I refuse to go back to the Academy again, so stay out of my way."

"Again? You graduated last year, Isamu-san?" Haru asked. He got a lethal glare in return.

"What of it?" Isamu demanded. "That stupid Jonin was even less fair than this one. Hid a totem in the training yard somewhere and gave us two hours to find it and retrieve it; course the whole place was rigged and she hunted us down too. Never did find where it was hidden, and my two 'teammates' decided to go back to their civilian life. Not me. I'm going to be a shinobi, and no stupid, unfair test is going to stop me."

The older boy made to leap away, but Haru frantically called out, "Wait! Isn't that the point?" When the two older graduates gave him their – reluctant – attention, he continued. "This whole test is unfair. It isn't possible for a single Genin fresh out of the Academy to win against a Jonin; just like it isn't possible to scour an entire Training Yard by yourself while under attack. I've been trying to figure out what Kono-ji… Konohamaru-sensei meant when he was talking about what 'needs to be done to succeed', and the best I can figure is that we work together. Maybe it's impossible for one, but with three we have a chance."

Both Yokazeha and Isamu snorted in unison, and Haru decided that the two agreeing was scarier than them fighting. "In case you're too stupid to remember," Isamu said, "there was only one scroll, and three of us."

"Though it does have merit," Yokazeha said, "I much prefer the odds of fighting off you two for the scroll than fighting Konohamaru-sensei."

"That's..." Haru tried to say.

"As if I'd let you anywhere near that thing, Kiraiko" Isamu said.

"Can't we..."

"As if you could stop me, Aho," Yokazeha said.

"Enough!" bellowed the voice of Konohamaru. Isamu and Yokazeha sprang back into defensive positions. Haru dispelled the henge and growled at the two of them.

"We're wasting time fighting each other," Haru snapped. "Now, there's a small clearing about a quarter of a mile NNE of here, I'll rig the surrounding area with traps and lead Konohamaru-sensei there. Once he's in the clearing, it'll be up to one of you to distract him while I line the area with ninja wire so that he can't escape. Isamu-san, if you know any genjutsu, then would be the time to use it."

"Why would anyone waste their time on a useless skill like that," the older boy muttered, turning his face away.

"Yokazeha-san, you could also use your blades to keep him in place," Haru continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "The point is to keep him in the clearing. It should only take me five minutes to set the wires, and once I'm done we can all attack at once. If he tries to leave, he'll be caught in the wire; if he stays, his maneuverability will be severely hampered. Either way, we win."

Isamu scoffed. "As if he'd fall for that. You guys do what you want, I'm getting that scroll." He bounded away into the trees. Haru took a shuddering breath, this was all going so wrong. Was he going to be sent back to the Academy? What then? At this rate he wouldn't even be a Genin by the time he had to leave for England, never mind a Chunin.

"Well, pipsqueak, let's get going," Yokazeha said, stretching her arms. "At the very least, we can use Isaho's**2** pigheadedness to our advantage and let him distract Konohamaru-sensei while we lay our trap."

Haru winced, not really liking how casually she was feeding Isamu to the wolves – figuratively; Kono-jisan wouldn't actually hurt Isamu, right? - but he headed out to start laying his traps anyway. Even working as quickly as he could, and with a little help from Yokazeha, it still took a lot longer than Haru had hoped in order to lay out all the traps he wanted. He knew they wouldn't stop the Jonin, but he prayed they would slow him down a little.

"Get ready, Yokazeha-san, I'm going to find Konohamaru-sensei," Haru said. Yokazeha rolled her eyes, but jumped up into a position of ambush anyway. Haru ran a little ways into the brush before stretching out his chakra and magic again. This time he did find Konohamaru, and not far from him was a very still Isamu.

Haru took off at a sprint, but hesitated as he got closer. Isamu made it very clear that he didn't want to fight alongside his teammates, and might actually hinder them. It would be tactically better to leave him there until after Konohamaru was caught so that he couldn't interfere. Haru paused exactly halfway between Isamu and Konohamaru, each just a few hundred yards in either direction.

The boy looked left and right, heart pounding in his ears. Then he took off to his left. He found Isamu caught under a Doton jutsu that pinned his arms and legs under the earth while his head and body remained exposed – presumably for an easy kill. Haru couldn't use any Elemental jutsu yet, but he was confident he could destabilize this one with his chakra and magic.

Isamu was snarling words Haru wouldn't be allowed to say in front of his cousins. The younger boy ignored him in favor of calling up his unique ability. Using his left hand to form half of a rat-sign, and his right hand hovering flat over the mound of packed dirt, Haru started mixing his chakra into his magic. Then he carefully released them both into the dirt, cracking and finally crumbling it off Isamu's leg. He repeated the process on the older boy's remaining three limbs, then took off before he could get his bearings.

Konohamaru was not far away, and easily gave chase to Haru. Fast as he was, Haru barely managed to get into the relative safety of his minefield before being caught by the Jonin. Then the game of cat-and-mouse really turned up. Haru was running as fast as he could while also setting off specific traps that were meant to fire behind him, hopefully causing his pursuer to dodge into the grips of another trap. He didn't dare slow down enough to look over his shoulder, though, and relied on his ears to let him know how close Konohamaru was based on the man's breathing and near-silent footfalls.

Then he was barreling into the clearing, a space hardly more than eight feet in diameter, and Yokazeha was sailing over his head to engage Konohamaru in combat. Haru set to work without hesitation. Hundreds and hundreds of yards of ninja wire zipped through his fingers as he weaved a veritable spider's web around the little space. A cry of dismay from Yokazeha brought his attention to the fight.

Konohamaru must have figured out their plan, because he had sent the girl flying back into the tree she had jumped out of, and was running for the one section Haru hadn't gotten to yet. Haru dashed forwards, though he knew it wouldn't work. Konohamaru would escape, and they would lose their chance to get the scroll.

"Genjutsu: Hageshii Kouu!"**3** Isamu shouted, jumping straight into Konohamaru's path, hands all but flying through a couple of signs. Konohamaru's eyes widened for a second, then glazed over as he came to a standstill.

For a second the clearing was still and silent. Then someone yelled, "The Scroll!"

Haru lunged at the same time as Isamu, and he saw Yokazeha dive out of a tree. Hands reached out.

"Kai!"

The force of release exploded outwards from Konohamaru's body in a tidal wave of chaotic chakra. Haru went flying backwards until his body hit the web of ninja wire. He stopped, limbs tangled in the wire, suspended upside-down in the air. Eyes that had shut out of reflex slowly opened to reveal his teammates in similar states to his own, while Konohamaru stood calmly in the middle – scroll still firmly attached to his hip.

**Beep! Beep! Beep!**

Konohamaru reached into one of his belt pouches and pulled out a travel alarm clock. "Well, would you look at that," he said. "Seems that it's noon already. And you three failed to retrieve the scroll." Haru grit his teeth in an effort not to cry. It had all been for nothing. "As for the test… You Pass!"

The words were like whiplash being applied to his brain. Haru thought he was going to faint. As it was the blood rushing to his head and the sudden loss of breath were making him very dizzy, so he was grateful when Konohamaru quickly cut them all down. He barely managed to stay on his feet; Isamu and Yokazeha didn't look much better off. Isamu leaned heavily on a tree, his body shivering with the sudden change of tension. The poor kunoichi kept opening an closing her mouth with a blank expression on her face. Their formerly grave Jonin-sensei had transformed into a grinning, jovial young man.

"Aiko-chan, great blade work," Konohamaru praised. "A few more years and some elemental jutsu under your belt and you will be a formidable sword mistress indeed; once you learn a bit more chakra control we'll find out which element you have an affinity with. Isamu-kun, that genjutsu at the end was a work of genius; I genuinely thought I was surrounded by a heavy rainstorm for a second there."

"Didn't do much good," Isamu said, still too shocked for his grumble to have its usual gruffness. "Genjutsu is kinda worthless, isn't it?"

"Nonsense. I got out so quickly because I've been in the field as long as you've been alive. A couple of years and I doubt I would be able to break out of anything you trap me in. Remind me to introduce you to Kurenai-basan." Konohamaru turned to Haru next, "And, Haru-kun, those traps were top class. For being assembled so quickly they were well done and excellently placed, I actually had to work at dodging a few. I might be your sensei now, but keep training under Naruto-nii: you're really on to something."

"But… we failed," Yokazeha said, finally finding her voice.

Konohamaru laughed, bright and clear. "You failed to get your target, but you succeeded in your mission. That is, you all worked together as a single unit to achieve your goal. Which means..." he took the scroll off his belt and released the henge it had been under the whole time, revealing a bundle of three scrolls. "You all have earned these. They contain the training schedule for the next three months, if you meet my standards by the end of that time, I will consider nominating you for the Chunin Exams."

Haru took his scroll with as much reverence as he had accepted his hitaiate. This was his proof of being a Genin, his prize and trophy for passing the most difficult test he had ever taken. He carefully opened it… and felt his bones chill.

"Um… Sensei? Are you sure this is our training schedule?" he asked. "I mean… it's not a Chunin's or Jonin's you grabbed by mistake?"

Konohamaru's grin didn't falter, but Haru thought there was a touch of sadism shining through as the man replied, "Oh, no. These are yours alright. Don't worry, I won't be using such a _softhearted_ schedule for long, just enough to ease you into what it means to be a Shinobi of the Leaf."

Haru shivered. He glanced over at his new teammates, who had both paled dramatically. This was going to be absolute torture.

Yet, Haru reflected as he collapsed into bed that night, he wouldn't have had it any other way. It was just one more step on the road to fulfilling his own goal.

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

**1:** Shimiru, depending on which kanji it's written with, can mean "to pierce, penetrate" or "to sting"; while Hatchi, depending on the kanji, can mean "bee, wasp" or "eight" (or "flowerpot" but that's not important). So Yokazeha's jutsu could either mean "Bee Sting" or "Eight Penetrations", and I imagine it being paired with a series of sword thrusts and stabs, rather than cuts or slashes.

**2:** And the horrible nicknames continue! This time Yokazeha is adding "aho" (which if you remember means fool) to Isamu's name; basically calling Brandon Brandumb, and Timothy Timfoolery. Again, don't call names, it's mean.

**3:** Hageshii Kouu can be translated as Relentless Rainfall, though Hageshii can also mean "tempestuous". Either way, it gets the point across: think monsoon.


	13. Chapter 12: Potential and Possibility

**Note:** The Poll is now closed. Thank you to all who voted! The final tally is: Lightning 6, Fire 4, Wind 5, Water 0, and Earth 0. Meaning that Haru/Harry has a Lightning Affinity, and he will start branching into Wind techniques later on. His elemental jutsu won't make an appearance this chapter, but will in subsequent chapters.

Interestingly enough, no one voted for Water or Earth. I have to agree; neither one seems suited for Haru/Harry. Water is a bit too flexible/unpredictable in nature and Earth a bit too supportive/passive in nature for either to really fit Harry.

* * *

March 1998

Haru yawned as he sat down lotus style in the warm-up room. Technically, it was just an empty room that opened to the back yard, usually used for storing outside equipment. Naruto had re-purposed it to be used for early morning and late evening light training; it was also used on rainy days so that a person could at least wake up their muscles before being subject to the chill.

Since learning about his… unique gifting of skills six months prior, Haru had taken to using the room for his daily meditation training. Sakura wanted him to be able to feel the flow of his magic the same as with his chakra, and then direct it at will. This would hopefully cut down on the bouts of 'accidental magic' drawing undue attention. So far, he had only been able to find and track the movement of his magic.

The seven-year-old took a deep breath and entered a meditative state. He found his chakra coils instantly, and took a few moments to attune himself to the ebb and flow of the network that acted as a second pulse in his body. It was comforting, feeling it all but tingle with potential. Then he shifted his attention.

His magic was harder to touch. It wasn't the mix of spiritual and physical energy like his chakra. Being purely spiritual energy, it was nearly impossible to perceive the gentle movement, much less interact with it. It wasn't a second lifeblood with a pulse of its own. It was a well, a spring-fed pool with still waters. It did not circulate. It flowed along a couple rivers and then evaporated. He could not run dry, not completely; though he could – in theory – drain the pool to just the spring.

Being so fundamentally different than chakra made magic a strange presence without any known rules. With a single breath Haru could feel his chakra surge and recede, that same breath did not even stir ripples into existence in his magic pool. A single hand-sign caused his chakra to twist its course and mold into a something else, something Haru could manifest in the physical outside his body. Not so with his magic.

Haru huffed, lost concentration, and had to coach himself back into complete relaxation. He let himself observe his magic for a while, not bothering the futile task of trying to touch or mold it. He watched it fill up the chamber in his heart, spill over into the paths on his arms and head, and then dissipate. He frowned. Where did the energy disappear to?

Even water that evaporated from a puddle rose to join the clouds before returning to earth and beginning the journey again. Did magic do something similar? Was he giving off clouds of magic from his fingertips?

Haru tried to feel the space outside of himself, but it was as hard as trying to feel the tips of his hair when the only nerves were at the base. Time passed as he struggled and failed to perceive if the magic leaving his body was hanging in the air around him. Perhaps he would have to keep trying for a while before producing results. The thought annoyed him: he had already been at it for six months,**1** and now that he had finished his second year at the Academy he wanted to make some noticeable progress before school started again next month.

Maybe if he tried another angle. If he couldn't feel the magic outside his body, could he stop it from exiting? Exercising a muscle he wasn't sure existed was hard. He tried 'squeezing' the end of the magic river to pinch it off. He tried 'pulling' on the area just beyond to form a block. He even tried 'curling' the stream around into a loop. None of those options did anything except make him aware of what his magic would _not_ do. In frustration, Haru 'pushed' at his magic in the area it was exiting – a sort of 'if you want to leave so bad, then scram!' gesture.

Haru startled himself out of his trance when he felt his magic suddenly gather in his fingertips for a second, followed almost instantaneously by crash outside himself. He blinked his eyes as the mid-morning sun shone straight into his eyeballs through the now open door. Being in a meditative state for several hours aside, the door had been securely closed until a second ago – right when his magic responded.

Pushing past stiff muscles, Haru rose and closed the door before returning to his position. Hesitating as much from anticipation as from fear of disappointment, Haru slipped back into his own mind. Carefully Haru found his magic pathways – which were back to normal – and 'pushed' on his fingertips. Nothing happened.

Haru frowned. He had been sure he had activated a valve of some sort that focused the output and held back the extra. Was it not from the 'push'? What else had he done? He had wanted the magic to respond in someway and… he had wanted… he had intent. Magic was spiritual energy, therefore it was not bound by any of the rules of the physical side of chakra: do action, get result. But it was spiritual, so it might respond similar to that side of chakra: have intention, see result.**2**

Haru found the point of evaporation again and this time he thought about what he wanted to happen. He wanted the door to open. He wanted it to open without being touched. He held the picture in his mind, and 'pushed'. The soft click of a latch, followed by a swish of something large moving the air. Haru opened his eyes to be blinded by the sun once again, and he laughed out loud.

He turned his attention on canteen hanging on the wall. This time without closing his eyes, he focused on his intent and the 'valve' he was prodding at. The canteen slowly lifted off the hook it was on, moved towards Haru, wobbled a little, then came crashing down as the magic destabilized. Haru didn't care. For the first time he had managed to use his magic at will. Things could only get better from here.

* * *

July 1998

Haru stared open mouthed at the arena, or rather what was left of it. Over 90% of what had once been grass and rock had been swamped with a thick plane of mud. It was an attack that had taken everyone off guard, including the opponent it was used against. After all, no one expected a Shinobi of the Sand to be proficient with Suiton jutsu, much less be able to combo it with the Doton he had shown a knack for earlier.

While such a tactic would mean very little to a shinobi able to water-walk, the timing of the surprise attack had been perfect. The opposing Genin, a boy from Cloud, had just gone through an array of flashy, chakra-consuming Katon jutsu. To a shinobi running low on chakra reserves, unstable footing was all but a death sentence. The fight lasted less than a minute after that, ending in the Sand boy's favor.

"Impressed?" a low, solemn voice asked.

"Very," Haru admitted freely. "That was incredible, Gaara-ojiki."

The Kazekage chuckled a little bit. "Yes, I am very proud of my student for what he has accomplished."

"I didn't think a Kage could have a Genin team. At least, not anymore."

"Technically, he is part of Matsuri's team," Gaara said, waving toward the part of the stadium dedicated to the teammates of those participating in the tournament. The tiny firecracker that was the Kazekage's wife**3** was wildly jumping about in a cheer routine, unhindered by the nearly-one-year-old safely strapped to her back. "But it is only natural for a husband to lend a hand to his wife from time to time," the man finished. There was a tiny sparkle in the corner of his eye, and Haru had to let out a giggle – which earned him a tiny head pat.

Much like the bond between Naruto and Sasuke, or Lee and Neji, or Gai and Kakashi, no one could quite figure out how the relationship between Haru and Gaara worked. To be honest, Haru wasn't quite sure either. All he knew was that he felt comforted and at ease in this stern man's presence, and for some reason the Kazekage seemed to enjoy his company above the norm – hence why the (almost) eight-year-old was sitting on his lap rather than Naruto's. Instead the Hokage's lap was being taken up with two squirming four-year-olds.

According to his family, this strange connection with the Ichibi Jinchuriki**4** had always been the case from as far back as their first meeting; at the time Haru had been only three months into his adoption. Apparently baby-Haru had taken one look at Gaara and latched on to him so tightly that he almost had to be surgically removed when it was time for the man to return home. Granted he had had the same reaction with Karin, but in her case there was the excuse that she was friendly, loved cuddling baby-Haru, and a 'close' relative through Naruto.

Now that he knew about his past, Haru wondered if those strange initial responses to people were based out of the one year he'd spent with his English family. Maybe he had grown up with a dog named 'Puff', it would explain why he insisted on calling Kiba, Akamaru, and all of Jiji-sensei's ninken 'Pafu' until he was four. Or perhaps his father had some scarring, which is why he always demanded that Oji-sensei hold him when he was little – and even now he loved getting hugs from the Nidaime Sannin's old Academy instructor. Though he decided not to speculate on why he always felt uneasy around Kurenai when her eyes were open – at least until a couple months of attending the Academy with Mirai helped acclimate him – or why he screamed and cried the first time he saw the Sharingan.**5**

"Still," Gaara said, snapping Haru out of his reflection, "no one expected him to come as far as he has. When it was discovered that he had an equal affinity for Earth and Water, almost everyone encouraged him to focus on Doton. Even I was a little skeptical about the use of Suiton in the desert. But Matsuri made it abundantly clear that she believed a unique skill, no matter how unconventional, should be cultivated with the same passion as a more practical one.

"Nori-kun then took that permission and became something unbelievable. Despite only being a Genin he furiously studied not only Suiton and Doton, but also looked into combining the two. Merely thirteen years of age and he managed to accomplish that which most Jonin struggle with. I admit that I am looking forward to see how far he will go. Perhaps there will come a day when I pass this hat on to him."

Haru passed his gaze between Gaara and the Sand Prodigy with undisguised awe, until something niggled at his attention. "But, Ojiki, don't you need to have a kekkei genkai**6** to use two different jutsu at once?"

"Not necessarily," the man corrected. "Kekkei genkai allow elements to be combined in ways that are on the edge of impossibility, while a highly skilled individual can combine elements in a natural way. For instance, Mokuton is technically the combination of Earth and Water, but wood itself is neither earth nor water, it simply requires both to grow. A more natural combination is what you just witnessed: mud. Again, Yoton is technically Fire and Earth, but lava in its natural state is not produced with fire, rather the heat and pressure of the earth; it can cause fire, but is not caused by it. Finally, Jiton is technically Wind and Earth, but magnets are not a product of either. A more natural combination of Wind and Earth is exactly what I use, which is sand. Of course my Jiton heritage gives me an advantage even in that area, but several shinobi from my village have utilized the same combination due to the prevalence of the raw material."

"So..." Haru paused, his mind casting towards an 'element' of his that was decidedly not one of the main five. "In theory, any two elements can be combined if the user has the affinity for both and they put in a lot of effort to master both at the same time."

"In theory, yes."

"What if… someone only has one affinity, and they work really, really hard with a second one?"

Gaara chuckled, "Thinking about trying it for yourself? It is up to you, of course, but doing that is much harder. Your natural affinity will always be the stronger of the two you use, and so compensation is required in order for a combination to work. Most shinobi don't consider it a worthwhile pursuit due to the amount of training needed for a small amount of payoff and the chakra strain of the finished technique."

Haru shrugged and let the matter drop as the next battle commenced. However, his thoughts were whirling with possibilities. His magic training had been coming along nicely since he figured out the trick to it four months prior, but it was still limited in practical use due to the necessity of keeping it a secret. Chakra was a balanced mix of physical energy and spiritual energy; what would happen if that balance was tipped with the inclusion of more – yet different – spiritual energy? Like mixing in nature energy - which was another form of spiritual energy - for Senjutsu. Would he create something new and powerful?

New kekkei genkai were discovered every generation; no one would question too deeply about someone being able to manipulate their chakra beyond the usual limits. Haru just had to figure out how to make it work. His grin of anticipation was easily explained by the clash of the next two Chunin-hopefuls.

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

Ojiki (-ojiki) is one way of saying "uncle", though it is very specific in its usage. It refers to the younger brother of your parent (there's an even more specific title that refers to the younger brother of your father). I thought it would be really cute for Haru/Harry to acknowledge Gaara like this since you could make the argument that Naruto and Gaara are brothers through being Jinchuriki.

Suiton means "Water Release"

Doton means "Earth Release"

Katon means "Fire Release"

Mokuton means "Wood Release"; and can I just say that I call hacks on the Hashirama cells! Even in the world of Naruto that's pushing my suspension of disbelief. "How do we fix [insert problem here]? With Hashirama cells!" Granted the Sharingan/Mangekyo/Rinnegan evolution isn't much better, but at least it isn't reliant on a technologically ambiguous people able to preserve and clone the DNA of a man who has been dead and buried for decades.

Yoton means "Lava Release"

Jiton means "Magnet Release"

Senjutsu means "Sage Techniques"

**1:** I figure that the reason it took him six months to get to this point is because he is seven and never had to meditate before. The first month was probably learning how to meditate properly without snapping out of it accidentally from impatience or fidgeting, and the second month or two would be finding and getting used to his chakra pathways. After that point any advice from his family would be useless, so he probably spent the next two months just trying to find his magic pathways and get a feel for it (or in this case, learn to sense what he can't feel). Only then, 4-5 months into the training, would he be able to start practicing to control his magic. And remember this is all done while he is also attending the Academy, so he likely has very little time to spare per meditation session - unlike this one where he sat in place for several hours.

**2:** There absolutely has to be some amount of intent mixed in to the process of making chakra work, otherwise a shinobi would have to do a different set of hand signs for every different henge they used - impossible and impractical. Not to mention that the same hand sign can produce 5 or 500 clones. But at the same time if it was all about intent, then there would be absolutely no reason for the hand signs. Hence my explanation: physical action molds the chakra, mental/spiritual intent directs the chakra.

**3:** Yes, I ship GaaraXMatsuri! There's barely a difference in age for one, and for two she was the first person to really believe in him after his conversion. Plus they look cute together. Not to mention that Gaara needs more than one adopted son for a family. Show that boy some love already! Naruto got it, why not him?

**4:** Yeah, yeah, I know Shukaku was pulled out of Gaara. You don't need to remind me; I almost cried at his death, jeez. But then the nutcase had to turn around and continue acting as Gaara's ultimate shield while battling Madara and have an almost heart to heart with the former Jinchuriki. I can't help but wonder about the "what if" scenario where Shukaku willingly gives himself over to being sealed inside Gaara - this time in a more mutual relationship like Naruto and Kurama develop - in order to continue their bond until Gaara's death (wherein Shukaku would either leave and go on his merry way, or choose another host).

**5:** Hoo-boy, there are a _lot_ of references in this one paragraph. I won't go in to details, but suffice to say that 'pafu' in Japanese can be translated as 'puff', Jiji-sensei is Kakashi, ninken translates to ninja dogs (Pakkun and the rest; technically Akamaru is a ninken as well), Oji-sensei can mean uncle-teacher and refers to Iruka, Mirai is Kurenai and Asuma's daughter, and she would be about two years older than Haru/Harry which makes her eligible to be in his class for the first four years. Also, shout out to everyone who catches all the Harry Potter people I was hinting at.

**6:** Kekkei genkai means "bloodline limit", and in the context of the anime it means "special person can do special thing no one else can do because plot!" I jest, it's a cool concept and allows for some really broken powers without making them mundane, and offers challenges for the heroes to overcome with their "normal" power. However the mechanics of kekkei genkai are never explained. They just slap the term on anything they want to be designated as "special"; it's basically a copyright tag. So I delve into it a tiny bit more.


	14. Chapter 13: The Start of Something Good

June 2000

The only warning they got was Konohamaru suddenly shouting, "Ambush!"

The family of merchants they were escorting huddled together, screaming in fright, as a group of half a dozen bandits descended on them. Konohamaru stood stalwart between the attackers and their targets, hands already flying through hand signs at a dizzying pace.

"Move it, useless midget!" Isamu shouted, roughly shoving Haru aside as he moved to join the counter-strike. It was enough to snap him out of the shock and panic that had temporarily frozen his body. Considering this was a C-rank mission he should have been expecting a confrontation of some sort. But 'knowing' and 'anticipating' are two different things, and 'being ready' is something else entirely – especially since this was their first C-rank.

Haru ran to the family of five – father, son, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons – and urged them back to hide in the relative cover of the trees and shrubbery. There wasn't a lot considering the very rocky terrain on either side of a white-water river, but a little was better than none.

He turned back to survey the battlefield. Konohamaru was still holding his own – obviously – and had even maneuvered the fight away from the merchants and their cart of wares. Isamu was on one side just keeping pace with one of the men, who obviously had some level of training. And Yokazeha…

A panicked scream brought Haru's full attention to the other side in time to see the kunoichi land in the river, having been launched by a strong Reppusho.**1** That… was not good.

Haru was running in an instant; the man – who he now knew to be a nukenin – could not be allowed to finish what he started. A kunai, charged with Lightning, flew from Haru's fingers. The nukenin instinctively blocked it with his own kunai, sending the electricity straight into his body. It wasn't enough to take him out, but it would hopefully stun him long enough for Haru to help Yokazeha.

The river was even more turbulent up close, and for a second Haru feared that the girl was gone for good. Thankfully he caught sight of her clinging to a rock several yards down from where she fell in. Even at a distance she looked worse for wear; the short battle and then the river itself had not been kind to her.

Unfortunately, there was no way to get to Yokazeha without water-walking, a technique that Haru was only just beginning to get the hang of in a still pond. The kunoichi also hadn't mastered the technique, and Haru didn't dare try throwing her a rope since her grip was already precarious – one slip would send her farther down stream.

Haru looked behind him. Konohamaru was still dealing with three out of his four bandits, and the only other one who could water-walk proficiently…

The nukenin bared his teeth in a savage snarl as feeling came back to his limbs. Haru gulped, then threw a stink pellet in the man's face and took off at a dead sprint. It only took a second for the pursuit to start with an enraged howl. He had a plan, a desperate plan, where a lot of things could go wrong, but a plan nonetheless.

He closed in on his target and used all of his momentum to send a flying kick at the face of Isamu's opponent. Also a nukenin, the man was able to dodge enough that the attack only clipped him, but it was just enough to knock him off balance.

"Hey!" Isamu shouted. Haru didn't pause, he grabbed the older boy and poured all his effort into a kawarimi. The two reappeared in the place where an oblong rock had been a second ago, just a few yards from the stream and Yokazeha.

Isamu punched Haru, dislodging his grip and knocking him to the ground. "What do you think you're doing!?"

"Yokazeha-san," Haru said, hurriedly standing to point out the stuck kunoichi. "You have to help her, or she'll die. I'll cover you both."

The boy spun to face the direction they'd come. Both pursuers had noticed their presence and were closing in. Haru wouldn't let them get the chance. He pulled a barrier seal from his pouch. It was a rudimentary one, meant to keep people without chakra training from opening a drawer or scroll. He had only just memorized how to write them himself last week, and Naruto-jichan hadn't taught him a more advanced seal yet.

It would have to do.

Slamming the paper onto the ground, Haru poured his chakra and magic into the seal. Using the seal as a base, and his chakra as a medium, he called upon his magic into a barrier that would protect his teammates. He felt it gather in his hands, build to a swell, and release into a tidal wave in front of himself.

A kunai struck the air in front of Haru's face, sparked, and fell uselessly to the ground. The tiny startle it had given him was enough that he felt the barrier waver. It could not be allowed to fall. With a deep, slow breath, Haru receded back into his own mind, aware only of his chakra, magic, and the barrier they constructed.

Twenty feet high, ten feet long on either side of him, curved back to the river bank, invisible, and impenetrable; Haru kept up the steady flow that would ensure the barrier would not waver again. He felt, from a distance, how foreign chakra crashed against his wall. Ninjustu launched in an attempt to overpower the seal. But it was not the seal's power that was holding off the attacks, it was not the seal that crackled and sparked with white-hot energy.

It was not the seal that was been pushed to its limits. Haru watched as his chakra coils burned less and less brightly. The lake of magic had drained to a pond, and was still reducing in size. Even detached from his body, he could feel the ache as chakra was rerouted away from feet, legs, and even head and neck in order to continue feeding the voracious appetite of the barrier.

But he would not quit. Haru refused to think of the consequences of his giving up while Isamu and Yokazeha were still vulnerable. His magic reserves were a puddle, small enough that he could almost make out the spring that fed it. His coils were dull, barely able to continue making chakra, much less enough of it. But he would not quit.

He would not…

Haru came tumbling out of his own mind as his connection to the barrier was forcibly broken off. There were people yelling, someone was nearby, maybe. The world was spinning and tilting at a violent pace in front of his eyes, and closing them only added the sensation of falling to the nauseating combo.

His chest ached. Scratch that, his whole body ached. His chest – and especially his heart – were on fire.

Was he even breathing? It was hard to tell. He could hear someone gasping for air, and he hoped it was himself.

He also hoped he had all his limbs. He couldn't actually feel if his legs were there or not, and his arms had the not-quite-numb sensation of pins and needles.

Of course it was possible they were prickling from the cold. Was he cold? His chest was burning. Or was it freezing? Fever chills?

"Oi... stay… pipsqueak!"

"...sensei… help!"

"Back… two."

Coherent thought returned with the sensation of hands on his stomach and fresh chakra flowing into the severely depleted network.

Chakra transfusion. One of the policies introduced during Tsunade's tenure as Hokage was the requirement of every Jonin-senei to be certified in Field First Aid, including the knowledge of how to safely perform an emergency chakra transfusion. It was riddled with side-effects caused by the introduction of one chakra nature to a body with a different nature, but better a few days of misery than death via chakra depletion.

He could already feel the piercing stomachache he was going to have to live with for a little while. It wasn't as bad as the pain still centered around his heart; that would only go away once his magic reserves built back up. He took a few experimental breaths; his chest was still a little too tight, but at least his chakra network was responding properly – even if it ached in the process.

Haru blinked his eyes open, it took a few tries before the world came into focus. Konohamaru-sensei was leaning over him, and his teammates were hovering only a step back. It was… unsettling to see all three looking so pale and worried.

"Are you back with us, Haru-kun? Blink twice if you understand me," the Jonin asked, voice pitched soft and low.

Though confused why he requested that sort of signal, Haru obliged and blinked twice.

"Good, how many fingers am I holding up. Blink the number."

Three blinks.

"Very good. Do you have any severe pain anywhere? Once for yes, twice for no."

Haru paused a moment to self assess. He had the mother of all stomachaches, and his head was just starting to pound in time with his pulse. Neither of those were important enough to mention since they were part of the side-effects and would go away in a few days. However, his heart was grating against his rib-cage and just thinking about it made him wince a little. Unfortunately Konohamaru had sharp eyes, and didn't even wait for Haru to answer.

"Once for vitals, twice for head and spine, three times for torso, and four for limbs."

Knowing he couldn't fool the man, and knowing it would be foolish to try, Haru dutifully blinked once.

"Life threatening? Once for yes, twice for no, three times for uncertain."

Haru thought a second; just because his heart felt like it was going to explode didn't mean it actually would. Also, the problem couldn't be fixed with chakra or any first aid. He blinked twice.

Konohamaru all but deflated with relief. "Gaki, we almost lost you, don't ever do that again."

"Wh...ah?" Haru tried to ask, unfortunately his body was being uncooperative. The Jonin grabbed a canteen and carefully started to lift Haru's head. The world vaulted sideways and went dark around the edges, colors and shapes blurred together, and the only sound he could hear were his ears ringing.

As the spell passed Haru was able to be thankful that Konohamaru hadn't asked him to nod or shake his head. He took a couple sips from the canteen and coughed to clear his throat.

"What happened? Nukenin? Everyone alright?" Not as put together as he had hoped, but better than before.

"You almost got yourself killed is what happened," Isamu snapped. The teen crossed his arms and half-turned away. "What were you thinking, Baka? You could've dropped that stupid barrier ages before I forced you to. And what the heck was with you being completely unresponsive? Ki... Yokazeha-san was ready to poke you with her knives to get you to say something, but you weren't moving, barely breathing, and wouldn't answer when we talked to you."

Haru blinked, trying to sort through the cacophony of words. "What?"

"What A..." Yokazeha started to say, then paused. She glanced over at her older teammate, then back to Haru. "What Isamu-san is trying to say is that he got me out of the river and over to you, where we noticed that you were supporting a barrier of some sort. We tried to ask how long it would last, or how strong it was, but you weren't responding. He even shook your shoulder, but you didn't even twitch. So we assumed it would last for a while, and I took the time to bandage my scrapes."

"I bandaged them," Isamu corrected. "You were verbally running through which jutsu you knew, their hand signs, and how useful they would be against multiple opponents. Took you long enough to settle on Fuuton: Tatou Umiunagi."**2**

"Shut up! That one is super difficult, especially since I don't have a Wind affinity. The only reason I decided to do it at all is because I had time to prepare," Yokazeha said.

"Time that shouldn't have been taken!"

"You needed time too!"

"Enough," Konohamaru cut in. Haru was thankful, his brain was threatening to leak out his ears, though it might be quieter if that happened. "It's true that Haru should not have had the barrier up as long as he did, but that is neither of your faults. Haru has been training to be sensitive to his own chakra for years, and he should have known better." The man leveled a harsh glare on him.

"Couldn't let them get hurt," Haru said, unrepentant.

"What you did could have gotten all three of you killed," Konohamaru countered. "If you had run out of chakra before they were able to recover, then you would have died and they would have been left vulnerable. You should have reassessed your options the moment you felt yourself getting low."

It was a sobering thought. "Yes, Sensei. Anyway what happened then?"

Yokazeha eyed him a moment then sighed. "Once I was ready with my attack we tried to tell you to lower the barrier… you still weren't responding, but by then you had started to shake and sweat. We… didn't know what to do, so..."

"I coated my hands with chakra and pulled you and the seal apart," Isamu admitted. "I hope you weren't wanting it back, cause it was in pretty bad shape." He held up a blackened strip of paper that was crumbling on the edges. It was honestly a wonder it hadn't been reduced to scattered ashes.

Haru made a vague motion to wave off the thing. He could always make a new seal. Isamu then said, "So the barrier fell, Yokazeha did her thing and managed to completely knock out the two closest to us, bowl over two that were closer to Sensei, and distract the farthest one. Then I cast a wide area Genjutsu: Hoshokusha Tsuiseki."**3** He sounded rather smug about the jutsu he had created, and Haru almost felt sorry for the guys who got caught in it – almost, they deserved to feel hunted after doing so much of the hunting.

"That debilitated the rest of them, so me and Konohamaru-sensei were able to tie them up pretty quickly. We took full shinobi precautions even though Sensei thinks they are only high-Genin rank at best," Yokazeha said, though she looked rather guilty. "Isamu-san went back to check on you, since you hadn't moved, and that's when we realized that you were even worse off than we had thought."

"You looked like death," Isamu said. His hands were clenching and unclenching. "Took me too long to tell if you were even breathing."

"Sorry," Haru said, because there wasn't anything else to say.

Konohamaru sighed. He stood up and raised his voice a bit. "We'll make camp here for the night. It should be safe enough since this area's bandits are in our custody. I'll send a Summons to let the Hokage know about the situation;**4** we should have a relief team here in the morning to take over the rest of the mission."

"But...!"

"No." Their sensei had a stern look that rivaled their scroll-test. "With one of our members incapacitated it would jeopardize not only the mission but also people's lives if we continued on farther. Better to return to the Leaf, hand over the nukenin to T&I, and heal for the next mission."

"But," Haru tried again. "We need Cs for the Chunin Exam."

"Like heck am I letting you three greenhorns anywhere near this upcoming Chunin Exam. You only just started to work together as a team twenty minutes ago, and the three of you are all levels of unprepared from underestimating opponents until it's too late" - he glanced at a guilty Yokazeha - "to jumping into situations without a plan or accounting for teammates' plans" - Isamu got the look this time - "to being a self-sacrificing idiot" - Haru got a nasty glare - "None of you are ready to be a Chunin. So we're going to take the next six months to really hone in on your skills and teamwork, and maybe I'll consider letting you enter the Winter Chunin Exam."

"Yes, Sensei," the three Genin said. The road ahead was a little longer than they had expected, or wanted, it to be. However, Haru glanced at his two teammates who were setting up camp in a relatively comfortable silence, perhaps the journey wasn't going to be all that bad.

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

**1.** Gale Palm, a Wind Release technique. Usually it's only powerful enough to knock a person off balance, but since Yokazeha is a young girl and wasn't expecting to be attacked by a jutsu I thought it would be enough to launch her back a ways.

**2.** Wind Release: Many-Headed Eel-Like Sea Creature. Yes, I know that's a weird name for a Wind technique, but I thought it was super cool that the Japanese have a single word for "eel-like sea creature". I debated making it a Water technique, but that would mean either a) it is Yokazeha's elemental affinity and she is very slow at performing ninjutsu for some reason, or b) it is not Yokazeha's elemental affinity and she is learning a third element on top of her natural one and her clan-based one. Besides, Sasuke had a lightning giraffe, why can't I have a wind sea-snake?

**3.** Translates to "Stalking Predator" and I imagine that it makes the victim feel like they are caught in the sight of a powerful and deadly adversary, and no matter how much they look around are how far they run they can never find their stalker or escape them.

**4.** I honestly don't know what type of Summons Konohamaru would have if he got one. I was leaning towards Monkey like his grandfather, but I didn't want to commit to it yet.


	15. Chapter 14: The Winter Exam's 1st Test

**Note:** I want to apologize for the unintentional hiatus. I can guarantee I will finish the story (it's already completely mapped out), but there might be several weeks where I miss another upload.

Also, I will be skipping a lot of Haru's team building, just for the sake of time. If you want me to write some scenes that show him and his team (or him and anyone that you feel hasn't gotten enough screen time), send me a review/message about it and I'll try to include it as a mini-chapter. The best part about having a timeline that bounces around is that nothing feels "out of place" no matter what year it takes place in.

* * *

December 2000

"It's too darn cold here," Isamu complained as he, Haru and Yokazeha stepped into the a massive indoor training facility. Haru shivered under his cloak, but didn't respond for fear that his teeth would chatter.

"What did you expect," Yokazeha pointed out, "It's the middle of winter. Of course it's going to be cold."

"Did you not see the foot of snow outside?" Isamu asked. "That's not normal!"

"It is for the Land of Earth," Yokazeha said.

"Which is why I live in the Land of Fire," Isamu said.

"We're being looked at," Haru said, catching his teammates' attentions. While theirs wasn't the only team from the Leaf present, they were certainly the youngest. Of the mass of people gathered so far, Haru could only see about three or four others who were of similar age with Yokazeha and Isamu. No one was as young as Haru.

Stares, both overt and covert, were being leveled on them. In particular they seemed to be trying to size up Haru. On one hand, someone so young should be weaker; on the other, to be in the Chunin Exams anyway must mean a prodigy level of skill. Haru could almost feel himself being visually dissected by the horde of young adults.

The kunoichi took a half step in front of her younger teammate. "Why don't you all mind your own business!"

"Strong words from a newbie," someone said.

A guy who was a few years older sauntered a little too close. "This is the Chunin Exam, that means you rookies _are_ our business. If you make it past the first round that is."

"And you think you're good enough to join us in the second round, huh?" Isamu challenged, stepping forward to get in the other's face.

"Keep talking," a different person from the crowd said, "cockiness is the fastest way to get yourself killed. I really don't want to deal with an idiotic newbie any longer than necessary."

"Better head home then, 'cause we're here to stay," Yokazeha said.

The verbal match started to devolve from there as more and more people entered the fray. There were no clear battle lines, with barbs being thrown at anyone who seemed remotely like a target - even between teams from the same village. Haru couldn't help but wonder how bad the Chunin Exams had been if this is what Naruto-jichan considered 'building positive relations between the Hidden Villages.'

Everyone suddenly quieted as the ground began to rumble. Haru spread his feet and bent his knees to absorb the shock; the last thing he wanted was to end up on his butt in front of all these people. The source of the shaking became clear as an earthen platform slowly rose into the air. It came to a halt about ten feet up, and the man standing on it crossed his arms just slowly enough to be dramatic.

"Listen up because I will only say this once," the man said, his voice booming through the room without him needing to shout. "I am Ittan,**1** your proctor for this part of the Exam. If you hopefuls want a chance to show your stuff to the people that care, then you have to get through me. Traditionally, this is a written exam… I don't hold with tradition."

He waved a hand to a doorway that was being guarded by a pair of Jonin. "Through that door you'll come to our Variable Controlled Training Facility,**2** or as we like to call it: The Self-Torture Chamber. Inside I've set up an obstacle course with ten checkpoints. At each checkpoint you must answer a multiple choice question. If you fail a question, get overtaken by an opponent, or give up, you fail this portion of the Exam and are not allowed to proceed.

"You are allowed to take this test in one of two ways. First you can go it alone. Second you can go with your team. Note that if your teammates fail the Exam you also fail. Let the Jonin at the door know what your choice is, they will take your names and the order in which you enter the Chamber will be decided by lot. Dismissed."

There was an odd sort of frenzy after that as people both pressed forwards to get their names written down and huddled with their teams to discuss their strategy. Haru glanced at his two teammates.

"We're going together," he said. They nodded without hesitation. The past six months had been exactly what Konohamaru had promised: they had honed in on their teamwork to the point where it was hard to remember the days they had been at each other's throats. They had each become strong in their own rights, but they were by far at their strongest when they worked together. Separating wasn't an option.

* * *

Time was a funny thing, Haru decided. While waiting at the starting line for the okay to start, thirty seconds had seemed like an eternity. Now that he and his teammates were in the middle of inching their way up a five hundred foot slope - that was blanketed with far too many unpleasant surprises - thirty seconds wasn't nearly enough time.

He dodged a falling boulder, and only barely managed to avoid falling into a pit-trap that appeared where he was going to land. Isamu had his face pressed into the dirt while a hail of senbon**3** shot overhead. Yokazeha was still standing, but her form was so still and so tense Haru thought that any stimulation would send her rocketing like a spooked cat.

"We can't continue on like this and make it to the checkpoint in time," he said. He looked behind them, already there was a new team at the base of the hill; ahead he could see the backs of the team that started before them almost at the top.

"What do you suggest?" Isamu asked, rolling onto his back to not get crushed by another falling boulder.

"This level of obstacles suggests that they aren't preset traps," Haru said. Not to mention the utter lack of tripwires.

"We won't be able to take out the attackers," Yokazeha said, springing straight into the air as the ground beneath her began to melt into quicksand. "Not only would we be bombarded if we go too close, we would have to go off course and would most likely be overtaken."

"So we make them think they have us, when they really don't," Isamu said, bringing his hands up. "Give me ten seconds, and then smokescreen the area."

Haru leaped to Isamu's side and slapped a seal onto his back. Chakra and magic surrounded the two in an impenetrable bubble that crackled and sparked. It was one of the first barrier seals that Haru created on his own, designing it to mimic the desperate barrier he formed over half a year ago. The down side of such a powerful barrier was that Haru was stuck in place having to feed it, though it thankfully didn't drain him as fast as the first time. As it was, they only used this in emergencies to give themselves a few seconds of breathing room.

Isamu started going through a long string of hand signs. Most genjutsu didn't require more than three to five, so Haru knew whatever the teen was doing it was going to be complex. Haru mentally counted down the seconds. Yokazeha stayed outside the barrier, her own hands poised for a set of signs; upon getting down to three seconds she started blurring through several.

"Now!" Isamu shouted. Yokazeha was already slamming a hand into the ground. Haru ripped the seal off Isamu's back as a thick cloud of dirt covered the immediate surrounding area.

"Stay close and follow me," Isamu said, breaking into a light jog. Haru and Yokazeha fell into step just behind him.

"Aren't we going too..." Haru was interrupted by a boulder landing about four feet behind the group.

"Keep moving," Isamu said. "It's working."

"What exactly is working?" Yokazeha asked.

"A pretty complicated genjutsu. It creates something like an afterimage of us between three and fifteen feet behind us, while we remain unseen. The afterimages are almost to the level of clones in that they can react to the environment to be more believable. The problem is that this jutsu is meant for clear terrain when an ambush is suspected. Being in this obstacle course means that we'll get separated from the afterimages while they're caught up dodging the traps and they'll disappear, revealing our location as well."

"It'll give us a fifteen foot lead that we wouldn't have had otherwise," Haru said.

"Maybe more if our images can move forward enough," Yokazeha said.

"Wait!" Haru said, coming to a stop as an idea struck him. His teammates paused as well, waiting for him to explain. He glanced back; kunai were flying at a point about twelve feet behind them.

"What're we waiting for?" Isamu asked.

Haru watched as slowly the obstacles got closer to the trio; from the pace they were moving at, the images must be a little better than the real people at dodging traps. A few seconds later a pit opened up about six feet from him. "Okay, start walking," he said. "Not too fast, I want to keep the images until we're about a hundred and ten feet from the top."

"If you want to stick with them, why not wait until we're all the way at the top?" Yokazeha asked. She and Isamu rearranged themselves to let Haru take the lead center as they walked up the incline.

"Three second advantage," Haru said. "If we sprint, we can get up to speed in the ten or so feet we'll be hidden, and then cover the remaining hundred in about three seconds. I figure it will take them about two seconds to realize what happened and find us again, the last second will be used by them prepping and aiming. We'll have a much larger lead, and not be in as much danger."

Yokazeha nodded, then grinned. "Last one to the top has to treat Kono-sensei to ramen."

"Get ready to empty your wallet, Ai. Ko. Chan,**4**" Isamu taunted. The kunoichi growled as her grin turned feral. Haru shook his head in exasperation. They may have become good friends, but his teammates' favorite hobby remained getting under each other's skin.

"Now!" Haru shouted. They all took off.

His plan worked almost perfectly. Except for having to hastily jump over a sudden mudslide just shy of the top, the trio made it to the checkpoint in the three seconds Haru had predicted.

The Chunin at the checkpoint looked highly amused as the three barreled to a stop in front of a table with high paneling sectioning it off into three areas, there was a sheet of paper in each section. Haru, in the middle section, glanced left and right. The paneling acted as a perfect blind so that he couldn't see either of his teammates, nor their papers.

"Congratulations on getting to your first checkpoint," the Chunin said, humor coloring her voice. "Each of you has a sheet of paper with your first question on it; when I tell you to, you will turn it over and answer it. You may not say the answer out loud, and if you are caught trying to signal your teammates all three of you will be disqualified from the Exam. Begin."

Haru turned the paper over and sucked in a sharp breath. It was a question on advanced chakra theory. He had studied this for years, but he knew for a fact that his teammates had only touched on it briefly back when they were learning their affinities. He bit his lip. If either one of them got the wrong answer it was over. But how could he let them know…?

"You had better get this right, Aho," Isamu suddenly said. Haru blinked in surprise. That... was so out of character, it had to mean something else.

"'Aho,' was it?" he said, making it sound like a taunt. "Don't call me that, Baka."

"At least he's not a chijin, unlike _someone_," Yokazeha said, and Haru knew she had caught on.

"Don't start with me, Dobe," Isamu said with a huff. He marched up to the Chunin with his nose in the air and handed her his paper. Haru and Yokazeha soon followed. They stayed silent as the Chunin looked over their answers, smiled, and waved them on. They ran down the path, not saying anything until they were out of earshot.

"Sorry! I didn't mean it!" Haru said. Isamu and Yokazeha laughed.

"Yeah, I didn't mean it either, pipsqueak," Isamu said with a friendly ruffle of Haru's hair. "You guys got what I was saying though, right?"

"'Aho' for A, correct?" Yokazeha asked.

Isamu nodded. "Then I guess we all decided on 'baka' for B, 'chijin' for C, and 'dobe' for D."

"With 'not' or 'don't' to indicate it is not the answer," Haru said. "But how did you know that? We haven't covered advanced chakra theory."

The teen smirked. "You think I'm trying to be a Genjutsu Master without learning all the ins and outs of chakra control? Puh-lease! Kurenai-shishou wouldn't even teach me a D-rank genjutsu until I'd learned advanced theory."

Yokazeha laughed again. "Good for you, Gen-boy.**5** It's really starting to feel like we can do this."

Haru winced. "Um, just one question."

"What?" Isamu asked.

The younger boy pointed in front of them. "Why in the Five Great Nations is there lava!?"

* * *

"And that's the last of you. Everyone's here who's going to get here," Ittan announced as a bedraggled group of three limped through the doorway. The obstacle course had taken the Genin in a very roundabout path back to the starting room. Haru gazed around the room with a small amount of awe: most of the crowd was still around, maybe only a sixth had failed the first part of the Exam. Either everyone was that good, or the test was just that easy, and Haru didn't know which option he disliked more.

"Wait a minute!" someone shouted. Eyes turned to look at a teenager who was standing by the entrance door with his arms folded. "I haven't got to go yet!"

"Neither have I!" called someone else. Soon dozens of people were openly lodging their complaints at not having had their turn.

Ittan crossed his arms and glared until the hall fell silent once again. Then he smirked. It sent chills down Haru's spine. "You didn't go, because you've already been disqualified. I recall saying that 'if your teammates fail, you also fail.'"

"But none of us have gone yet!" one girl yelled. "We were all going to go separately so that we didn't slow each other down."

"Then you've already failed!" Itten declared, his voice booming around the room. "A shinobi is only as good as their team. Being able to help and make up for each other's weaknesses is the difference between success or failure. Anyone who chose to forsake their teammates to their own fate has already failed. You can see yourselves out."

There were a couple beats of stunned silence. Then, slowly, shoulders began to slump and feet shuffled towards the outside door. The steady parade of people didn't halt until barely a third of the original contestants were left. That still left almost a hundred, but thirty-two teams were better odds than the hundred or so there had been.

It shocked Haru that so many would willingly abandon their teammates. Then again, six months ago he might have done the same... it wasn't a comfortable thought. It didn't matter now, though. He and his team stuck together and they were going to stick together. They were in this to win it. He would become a Chunin without fail.

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

Chijin roughly means "dunce, fool" and is not to be confused with the different spelling which means "friend, acquaintance"

Dobe means "lowest ranked (on a test)", and is often translated as "dead last".

Shishou (-shishou) means "Master" or "Teacher", it is a step up from "sensei" because it implies more of an apprenticeship style of relationship rather than a classroom style.

**1.** Ittan is the name of an older Chunin who joined the Alliance during the Fourth Great War. I decided to borrow him for two reasons: 1) I didn't want to bother coming up with a name myself for a one-off character, 2) he was a pretty cool dude for not being a major reoccurring character in the anime so I wanted to give him a promotion to Jonin.

**2.** The Land of Earth is father north than the Land of Fire, so I imagine they have harsher winters. It makes sense to me that the Stone Village would provide a really, really nice indoor training facility so that their shinobi can continue to train in the dead of winter - granted they would probably also train outside some of the time so that they can fight in snowy terrain, but that doesn't have to be _all_ the time.

**3.** Senbon were a versatile tool that could either be used medically (acupuncture, minor surgery, etc.), or for assassination. In order for them to be effective they either had be be precisely stabbed into a nerve cluster or vital point of the victim, or they had to be coated in some kind of toxin to be introduced directly into the bloodstream. Because they were small, a lot of them could be carried at once, and so they could also be used as a temporary distraction by showering an enemy with several at once. Naruto canonically uses senbon almost exclusively in the latter form (throwing a lot all at once) which is an ineffective use of it as a weapon, but like with the kunai I'll stick with the pop-culture version for the story.

**4.** If you remember, Yokazeha doesn't like her name (Aiko) because it's too "pretty" for her tastes. The honorific "chan" is very cutesy, used in reference to someone who is very young (like a small child or preteen girl), very close (like a girlfriend or fiancee), or considered "adorably beneath" the person talking (like a pet). As you can imagine, Yokazeha would not like this honorific used on her, and she especially wouldn't like it attached to her name; try calling a tomboy 'sweetheart' or 'princess' and see how well they like it.

**5.** Interestingly, there are several different characters for "gen" (and those characters can be pronounced different ways too), but one of the characters means "original, primitive, primary, fundamental, raw." So while Yokazeha could be referring to his genjutsu ability (that "gen" meaning "illusion, dream, vision, apparition"), she could also be using wordplay to call him a beginner or amateur.


	16. Chapter 15: Winter Exam 2nd Test part 1

**Note:** Happy Merry New Christmas Year!

For those of you who have said that you would prefer longer chapters, consider this a belated Christmas present.

* * *

_January 2001_

"Will the contestants Kakusuriki Atsushi**1** and Tokonomidori Haru please enter the field?" the proctor called.

Haru grinned as he walked onto the field that was both his battleground and his stage. Spectators from all nations were gathered in the stands to watch the fight between himself and the teenager from Stone. Up in the stands he saw a shock of blond hair peaking out under the brim of a Kage hat. Usually Kage didn't visit other villages for the Winter Exams, but his Ji-chan decided to make an exception in this case. It wasn't everyday one's nephew made it to the Tournament of the Chunin Exams.

Across the battlefield, his opponent was grinning broadly and taking excited peaks at the visiting Kage. Haru could count on the other to be giving this fight his all, if only to impress his personal hero. That was okay, he would be leaving nothing behind either.

"Atsushi-san," he called, "Whatever happens, no hard feelings."

The other boy turned his smile on the younger boy. "Right, Haru-kun! I'll be coming at you with everything I have, so you'd better do the same."

Haru readied himself. He didn't know half of what Atsushi could do, but then again Atsushi didn't know half of what Haru could do either. This was a great chance to get to know his new friend even better. Who knew that such a strong bond could form over a few days in the wilderness?

* * *

_December 2000_

Haru shivered and jogged in place as he tried to keep warm while surrounded with snow. Being used to the mild winters of the Land of Fire was going to be a severe handicap for this next part of the Exam.

"All right you fresh meat!" their new proctor, Kigikan, called. She was a woman that reminded Haru a bit too much of Anko the few times he had run into the eccentric Jonin. "The area beyond this wall is Training Area 51, and it's filled to the brim with thousands of deadly little surprises for the unwary."

Haru glanced over what he could see of the area. The trees weren't as big, nor the forest as thick, as the Forest of Death back home, but the labyrinth of rocky crags and spires more than made up for it. Haru didn't want to meet any of the animals – or plants for that matter – that chose to make such an inhospitable place their habitat.

Kigikan got a feral grin on her face. "This will be your home for the next week, do try to make it back alive.

"You each will be given one of a pair of scrolls, indicated with matching colors. Your mission is to procure both scrolls and deliver them to the drop-zone written inside. Should you fail to achieve this in 168 hours,**2** then you are disqualified. I'll be quite impressed if a full 16 teams pass, but chances are I'll be saying goodbye to more than that.

"I'm obligated, as your proctor, to inform you that you each will also be given a seal that will allow you to summon a Jonin on stand-by to yourself. If you choose to quit at any point before the week is up – whether due to injury or losing your guts – this is how you do so; anyone who activates the seal will be disqualifying themselves and their teammates. Supposedly this should prevent any unnecessary deaths and whatever."

Haru and his team got in line to receive their scroll and seals, as well as be told which gate to enter Area 51 by. His shivering now was less about the cold and more from reassessing his opponents. Of the 32 teams, only one other appeared to have anyone under the age of fifteen, with most consisting of sixteen-year-olds and a few even older than that. The older teams Haru wasn't too worried about – if they still hadn't become Chunin by now they probably wouldn't in this Exam either – but the rest were the perfect age for promotion, and of those the ones from Stone were the most dangerous to the young trio due to home-field advantage.

It wasn't easy to get a glimpse of the other young team, being separated by the height and breadth of the older teenagers. One looked like he was absolutely loaded down with knives and other mid-range weapons – which was most likely his preferred range of attack. Another was waiting by doing various basic exercises, like push-ups, sit-ups, and jogging in place – probably a heavy hitter with a lot of stamina. The last one Haru only caught a single glimpse of, and he was just standing there, assessing the Training Area; what really caught the boy's attention were the painted black stripes on his face, three on each cheek. Those had to be symbolic of something, but what was still a mystery.

Unfortunately, Haru couldn't continue his analysis due to entering the blind where they would receive their items. Their scroll was red and silver, and it was decided that Isamu would carry it and conceal the colors under a genjutsu so that no other team could tell what it was without their permission. With the scroll and seals stashed away, they were directed to Gate 11; there were 25 gates in all, and each was a mile apart, so some of the teams would have to double up.

Yokazeha was muttering to herself something about how to most efficiently cover the 50 miles or so that made up the Training Area.**3** Isamu and Haru exchanged grim looks. While it would only take a little over two hours to sweep the whole area, the same could be said about the other teams. This would be a free-for-all game of cat-and-mouse where the advantage would go to whoever had a better grasp of the lay of the land. There would be little time for rest since the small size of the area meant teams would be within minutes of each other at all times. If they didn't play this smart they would be on the run for seven days trying to find and catch their target, while escaping everyone else, and looking for their drop-zone.

Shinobi were good, but they were only human, and their team in particular were only Genin. At most each of them could go nonstop for about three, maybe four days in a pinch. The first thing they would have to do was find a place to hide, somewhere they could retreat to that no one else would be able to find. It would have to be in a 'centralized' location, so that it was easily accessible from all directions. And they would have to find and set up this safe-house while assuming most of the other teams were doing the same and hunting them… it was a daunting task.

A horn blasted, and the gate opened, and the three surged forward at a dead sprint. At the least they were a mile away from the next two closest teams, and assuming they would be moving in a mostly forwards direction at a run as well, it would take less than eleven minutes to meet in roughly the middle of the area, even less if one of the teams veered towards them. It would take about five minutes to set up a fully hidden and defensible base, which meant…

"We stop after eight minutes," Haru said. "We should be around the three mile mark, which is almost in the center. It will be cutting it close, but we should have just barely five minutes to make camp."

"Assuming we find a defensible spot right away," Yokazeha pointed out.

"We'll have to risk it," Isamu said. "We stop earlier than that an' we'll put ourselves at a disadvantage for the rest of the test."

"There's also a chance that the other teams will run into each other and give us more time," Haru said.

"Or they'll be thinking the same and stop to set up their own camps, which'll only give us more time," Isamu said.

Yokazeha grimaced then. "Or the opposite could happen and they decide to make an aggressive attack on the more defensive teams."

"We don't have that option," Haru said before anyone could suggest they change strategies, "we don't know this land well enough to go on the hunt without a place to retreat to."

"Not to mention we're already at a disadvantage against most of 'em due to the gap in years of experience," Isamu agreed.

"And if another team comes across us before we're ready?" the kunoichi asked.

"We'll figure it..." Isamu started, but Haru cut him off.

"Unfortunately we'll have to figure that out really soon." He and his teammates came to a stop in one of the larger trees – a scraggly thing barely thirty feet tall – and he immediately sat down lotus-style. He had learned how to keep his chakra and magic senses 'open' without flooding the area with chakra. The down side was he could only tell when someone was in the vicinity, not who, how many, where, or anything else important to know.

Trusting his teammates to watch his back, Haru let his magic search out the nearby people. It wasn't as traceable as straight chakra, and gave just as much information, especially if he mixed in a diluted amount of raw chakra.

"Three, a little larger than us, low Chunin level chakra development, headed roughly this direction, we can avoid confrontation if we move quickly enough, but… I think we should meet them. They aren't moving aggressively, more like with a purpose, I think the leader might have knowledge of the area. If we can bargain with them we'll end up on top in the long run."

"What're the chances they've got our scroll?" Isamu asked.

"Less than ten percent," Yokazeha answered, "I'm wondering what they will ask in exchange for their knowledge."

"Care to find out?" Haru asked. The other two nodded, and the trap was laid.

The other team, from Stone, became wary of their surroundings a second too late as Haru set off a wire trap that blocked off the area in a twenty foot circle – small enough to contain, large enough to fight. The Stone Genin jumped into defensive positions, but Haru frowned at the sloppiness of it – there had been a couple of near misses with trodden on toes and weapon placement. This was the other young team, the members looking to be only a year or so older than Isamu and Yokazeha. Still, they should be more graceful than a bunch of new Academy graduates.

Sticking to the plan for now, Yokazeha dropped down to stand near the edge of the clearing, while clones of Haru and Isamu dropped to form a triangle with the other team in the middle. The real Haru and Isamu stayed in the limited coverage of the trees where the younger could set off traps and the older could perform a genjutsu from a safe distance. There was a little more shuffling, and more proof that the Stone Genin were not a cohesive unit no matter how capable each was individually.

"We don't want to fight if there's no reason to," Yokazeha said, kodachi held loosely at her side. "What color is your scroll?"

The one who looked the oldest, who happened to have black face paint, started to say, "Yel..." but was cut off with a grunt as the weapon-loaded one elbowed him.

"Why should we…?" he had the wind knocked out of him by the third member.

"You're not the leader," the third said in a loud voice. Then he punched the 'leader' in the arm, "And you stop being a pushover and letting this guy..."

Stripes, as Haru decided to call him, slapped a hand over Loud-mouth's mouth. "You aren't the leader either," he said, then glared at the other, "And there's no harm in letting them know, if it'll avoid a fight. You don't have to be hyper paranoid."

Yokazeha caught Haru's eye, and he gave a signal. "You don't have our scroll anyway," she said, "Neither of our colors is yellow."

"And you'll just let us go?" Weapons asked, skepticism heavy in his voice.

"For a price," Yokazeha said. "Tell us everything you know about this area."

"Absolutely nothing," Loud-mouth grumbled.

The kunoichi startled a bit, then collected herself. She brought her kodachi up. "You were moving with a destination in mind, you know something about this area."

"Well I don't," Loud-mouth said, "but..." Weapons all but tackled him.

"Shut Up!"

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"Stop it, both of you!" Stripes yelled. He sighed, closing his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened them they were honed on Yokazeha like a predator. "As you can see, we're not a decent unit. We were thrown together with the leftovers of teams who had two of their members promoted. You three obviously are a natural team: used to working with each other and all the more dangerous for it despite your age. In a straight fight, I'd say you would be on the winning side most of the time. But this terrain is our territory, and we have the option of fighting in a more round-about manner. You would eventually wear yourselves out trying to stay ahead of all the Stone teams that can use this place to the best advantage."

"You're proposing an alliance," Haru said, from the trees. The Stone trio jumped and glanced around warily. Still hidden, Haru signaled Isamu to stay put, and dropped down to take the place of his newly dispelled clone. "You're saying that even with a full verbal recounting of the area, we would never be on the same level as someone who actually had experience here – which is true. However, if we join forces, we cover each other's weaknesses. We can fight the battles a new team would struggle with, and you can guide us to places a foreign team would never know about. We will collect the scrolls, and you will find the drop-zones."

Stripes grinned, startling Haru for a second – he had only ever seen Naruto-jichan smile that wide. "You catch on quick, Shorty. Guess there's a reason you're in the Exam so young."

Haru crossed his arms. "The name's Haru, not Shorty, Stripes."

"Then call me Atsushi," he replied. "Do we have a deal."

Haru glanced at Yokazeha then Isamu, each gave a signal and he nodded. "Lead us to a safe place for six to camp, and we'll hash out a proper alliance then."

A few minutes later saw the group of six at the base of one of the many cliffs. This one had low shrubs clinging to the side and some trees scattered at the top and bottom. About eight feet off the ground there was a crack in the stone, just wide enough for a person to slip through. Atsushi pointed at it.

"Through there is a small cave system: four chambers, an underground spring, and another exit about half a mile east that comes out near a winter-berry patch. If this place hasn't been chosen by another team yet it's our best bet."

"Haru, anyone in there?" Isamu asked. The other teens watched curiously as Haru felt out the caves with his magic – not that they knew that.

Finally he shook his head. "All clear. Secure both exits, I'll prep a barrier seal."

"You know barrier seals!?" Loud-mouth, who had introduced himself as Nobutoshi, asked.

Haru scratched the back on his neck. "A few, Ji-chan is teaching me, but it's slow going. I think I'll be able to put up a Six-point Barrier with everyone's help."

Weapons, AKA Katashio, frowned and asked, "Why six? I don't know a lot about seals, but I do know that Five-point Barriers are the ones known for being impenetrable."

"It's because Five-point Barriers are impenetrable that we can't use them," Haru said, pulling out his paper and calligraphy set. "True, no one would get in, but we wouldn't be able to leave either. Four-point Barriers are nearly as strong, and have the added bonus of the seals being inside the barrier field, but six is our best bet for two reasons.

"First, a Six-point Barrier can only be overpowered by several A-rank jutsu, or removing the seals. The neat thing about Six-points is their inherent stability: once erected, they won't collapse unless four or more of the seals are removed. The seals are outside the barrier field, but that's where the second reason comes in. Three, Six, and Nine-point barriers lend themselves to partnership with genjutsu. Usually a barrier will reject a genjutsu, or it will not blend well, making them very noticeable. But a Six-point Barrier can be used in conjunction with a genjutsu to make it all but invisible to anyone who doesn't know it's there."

"Which means they'll have a time of it just finding one of the seals in the first place, let alone four of them," Nobutoshi said. "That's freaking awesome!"

"You can pull off a genjutsu like that?" Katashio asked.

"Not him, but I can," Isamu said. "I've been training under the Genjutsu Mistress Kurenai for over eight months; no one will know we're here."

Atsushi nodded, "Let's go with that. Haru-kun, let us know if you need anything for your seals. Isamu-san, stay with him until the barrier and the genjutsu are up. Yokazeha-san and Katashio-san, guard this entrance until the barrier is up; Nobutoshi-san and I will be at the other one."

"Before you all go," Haru said, hurriedly fishing a pre-made seal from his bag. "Can you each channel some of your chakra into this? I'll use that sample to key you into the barrier seals so that you can exit and enter at will."

One by one they all did as asked, the writing on the seal steadily glowing brighter and brighter as more chakra was added. Then they all dispersed to their jobs. It took a little more than five minutes to set everything up, but the results were worth it – especially when a team from Wave passed by seconds later with no indication that they noticed the barrier or people inside at all.

"Now for business," Atsushi said sitting down in the largest of the caves, a rough dome that could hold about ten adults comfortably.

"We should have a way to guarantee we don't double-cross each other," Katashio said, leaning against a wall with one hand resting on his tanto.

"Why would we?" Nobutoshi asked from where he sprawled. Both Katashio and Yokazeha rolled their eyes.

"It's shinobi nature to take as many advantages as possible," the kunoichi said, sitting near the exit and polishing her twin sai. "Even if it means stabbing their temporary allies in the back."

"You plan to do that?" Nobutoshi asked, sitting up with a growl.

Isamu rolled his eyes. "Of course not."

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem, Nobutoshi-san," Haru said as he sat near Atsushi, "is that you cannot and should not trust our words without proof – at least until you get to know us. And we have to do the same for you. It's the only way to make sure we all stay safe. And I suggest we start by swapping scrolls."

Atsushi hummed. "That could work. The Jonin documented who had which scroll, so when you get our other scroll you wouldn't be able to take our scrolls to our drop-zone. Meanwhile, with us holding on to your scroll you can't just skip off to your drop-zone because you need both. On the other hand, we can't just skip off to our drop-zone because you have our scrolls, and we can't go to yours for the same reason you can't go to ours."

Atsushi opened his satchel and pulled out a scroll that was colored yellow and blue. He set it down between himself and Haru, but kept a hand on it. Haru nodded at Isamu, who released the genjutsu on their scroll and handed it to the younger boy. He set it down next to the other scroll, also keeping a hand on it. Maintaining eye contact, both Haru and Atsushi released their holds and moved to grab the other – each movement was slow, meticulous, and mirrored by the other so that there were no gaps in advantage.

Haru released the breath he didn't know he was holding when he finally was able to take hold of the yellow-blue scroll without incident. He quickly handed it off to Isamu, who disguised it again. Atsushi tucked the red-silver scroll into his satchel and grinned, obviously happy the tension was over.

"We'll have to work out a plan for finding and taking on two different teams," Haru said.

"Your ambush tactic should work the best, and I can show you a few good places," Atsushi said. "I've trained in here twice so I have a general understanding of the lay of the land."

"Then you should be able to identify our drop-zone," Haru said.

Atsushi nodded. "Most likely, I already figured out ours."

"We can assume that the teams carrying our scrolls are going to want to locate the drop-zones quickly as well, so if you show us the locations we can plan our ambushes for anyone who enters the immediate areas," Haru said.

"We'll also need basic info on everyone's abilities so that we can coordinate our assault," Atsushi added.

"Basic information only, though," Haru clarified, "None of us are ready to spill our darkest secrets to each other."

Atsushi laughed, and the others smiled. Maybe 'positive relations between villages' wasn't as impossible for Chunin-wannabes as Haru had assumed.

"Might as well start," Isamu said. "I'm thirteen, high chakra control, skilled in genjutsu, good at taijutsu, mid-range fighter, and I tend not to think like a shinobi right off."

"You a civilian kid too?" Nobutoshi asked. "I am, and I still suck at the sneakier stuff even after almost two years."

"That's just you, regardless of background," Katashio snarked.

Nobutashi stuck his tongue out. "Anyway, I'm fourteen, skilled in taijustu, and I can do some ninjutsu… oh! And I like getting close to whoever I'm fighting."

Yokazeha shrugged. "I'm short-range as well with my kenjutsu, though I'm strong in ninjutsu so I can also go mid-range. I'm thirteen, and I have a wide array of combat knowledge, but I can't improvise very well."

"I also work best when a plan is stuck to with few variations," Katashio admitted. "I'm fourteen, short to mid-range, and I have a kekkei genkai – all you need to know is that it's similar to Jiton."

Eyes turned to Haru and Atsushi, and the younger boy squirmed a little at the sudden attention. "Ah, um, I'm ten and a half, I don't have a specialty between short, mid, or long-range fighting; I'm really skilled at traps, and good at both taijutsu and ninjutsu, and… I guess I have a kekkei genkai? Not sure, really."

"How can you not be sure?" Katashio scoffed.

Haru blushed a little. "Well, my parents were civilians as far as I know, but they were killed when I was a year old. I've been raised by shinobi since then, and I've had training in chakra control beyond what they teach in the Academy for years. I can… manipulate my chakra in ways that most people can't. I'm not sure if it can be classified as a kekkei genkai or not."

Atsushi laughed. "Either way that's seriously cool, and there's tons of kekkei genkai that only started existing in the past two or three generations, it's not that weird. Did you know that people are wondering if they should classify the Hokage's kids as having a kekkei genkai?"

"Seriously?" Haru asked. "Minato and Hiruzen are six, and Kushina is only three. They're not even in the Academy yet!"

The oldest teen's eyes lit up. "You know the Hokage's kids!? Where and when did you meet them? What're they like? Did you meet Naruto-sama? When? Where? What was it like? What's _he_ like?"

"Shut Up, Atsushi!" Nobutoshi yelled. "Yeah, yeah, you're in love with the Hokage, we get it. You still haven't introduced yourself."

Atsushi blushed. "I'm not in love with him," he grumbled. "Anyway, I'm fifteen, I'm a mid to long-range fighter, and I'm skilled in ninjutsu; I've been doing exercises to build up my chakra coils and reserves for years, so I can use quite a few big ones."

"Yeah, so you can be just like your precious Hokage-sempai," Katashio said.

"Uzumaki Naruto-sama is probably the greatest hero in the entire history of the world! My parents saw him in action during the War. Well, a shadow clone of his, but it's practically the same thing. He's done the impossible so many times that our perceptions of reality have been single-handedly redefined by him. I would give anything just for five minutes of his time. Anyway, you've got to answer my questions," Atsushi said, rounding on Haru.

Haru glanced at Isamu and Yokazeha, but the two traitors were poorly hiding their laughter and not offering assistance. With a sigh he said, "I've known Minato, Hiruzen, and Kushina since they were born. They're like little devils, always getting into trouble of some kind. The twins have already caused four new ANBU recruits to retire early for their mental health after a few pranks got out of hand, and Kushina is following in their footsteps. And I don't remember my first meeting with Naruto-jichan because I was only a year old when he, Sakura-basan, and Sasuke-ojisan took me in."

If it wasn't for the barrier, Haru was sure Atsushi's squeal could have been heard all the way back in Leaf.

* * *

**Ending Note:**

Sempai (-sempai) is a term of respect used to refer to someone who has seniority, such as an upper classmate or a coworker who was hired before you.

**1.** Kakusuriki is the combination of "kakusu", meaning to hide or to conceal, and "riki", meaning strength or power; Atsushi can either be written with the character meaning "pure" or the character meaning "Kindness, honesty". I will be giving his teammates full names, and their translations, at a later date.

**2.** Equal to 7 days of 24 hours, I decided that "7 days" was far too open to interpretation (is the cutoff at sunrise, noon, sunset?).

**3.** All the math checks out: a circle with a circumference of 25 units has an area of roughly 50 units (and a diameter of 8 units). Bonus: in the previous chapter the Genin were able to sprint at roughly 22.5 mph, if they can hold that speed they will be able to cover the total area in a little over two hours, or cross in a straight line in about 21.3 minutes.


	17. Chapter 16: Winter Exam 2nd Test part 2

**Note:** Yeah, I'm stuck being a slow updater for a while. I know the quote about "die a hero or live long enough to become a villain", but I didn't think it would only take four months. I'm sorry, please bear with me.

* * *

December 2000

Haru was grateful he had had a chance to set up the protective barrier before his identity was revealed: it had been a long and difficult process, almost surgical in nature, to extract Atsushi from the much younger boy. By that time, his voice was nearly hoarse from answering so many questions. 'Yes, he uses shadow clones all the time.' 'No, I haven't met Kurama; it's not like Ji-chan lets him out for fun.' 'Ramen, always from Ichiraku.' 'Orange, duh...' 'I'm not going to answer that, it's private.' 'How should I know if he's planning on another kid?' 'GAH! Why Would You Ask That!? I Can't Unsee That Now! Where's A Yamanaka When You Need One?'

Needless to say, the group of six didn't get to the far more important discussion of their strategy for almost two hours.

"Now that… _that_ is over with," Katashio said with a pointed glare at Atsushi, "I believe it would be best to survey both drop-zones and pick the most suitable location to set the ambush."

"Nope," Isamu said. "Better to pick one now and go straight for it. The more time we spend wandering around and dallying, the more time the other teams have to set traps for us."

"Which means we need to scout both locations to make sure they're not already booby-trapped," Yokazeha said.

"And since we're doing that anyway, we might as well pick a location afterwards," Katashio pressed.

Haru furrowed his brow and said, "Both are good ideas, but without knowing how aggressive or defensive the other teams area going to play we can't make a fully informed decision."

"Who cares?" Nobutoshi asked. "There's six of us, we're twice as strong as the other teams."

"Unless a few of those teams got the bright idea to team up like we did," Isamu said.

"Which would put us on the same level, or even a disadvantage," Atsushi said.

"The time limit is also going to effect how people go about this challenge," Yokazeha pointed out. "The closer it gets to the deadline, the more aggressive all the teams will be, regardless of how they started out."

"Which means that our ambush strategy will be most effective towards the middle of the week, so that we can be set up before the defensive teams get aggressive, but after the initial aggressors have their run," Haru decided.

"I'm not sitting in this cave for a couple of days doing nothing!" Nobutoshi said, jumping up.

Atsushi pushed him to sit back down. The oldest said, "We won't be doing nothing. We'll be gathering Intel, surveying the area, trying to get a read on the other teams."

"Atsushi-san, can you provide us with a rough map of the land with our location and our drop-zones marked?" Haru asked.

"No prob," the teen said, already sketching into the dirt on the cave floor.

Yokazeha wrinkled her nose. "Not to sound like Nobutoshi-san, but I really don't want to be alternating between stuck in a cave and doing reconnaissance for two or three days. I'm more suited to attack."

"We're shinobi. Deal," Katashio said, earning himself a glare from both the kunoichi and the two who were civilian-raised.

Atsushi called everyone's attention back to himself. "Okay everyone, crude map time. It doesn't show elevations, though I marked the seven 'landmark peaks' and river valley. We're here," - he pointed to circle - "about two miles SW of center. Our, that is my team's, drop-zone is here," - an x across the map was indicated - "almost five miles ENE of us, and your drop-zone is here." Haru gaped. Atsushi was pointing at an x that was right next to their circle.

"This base is that close to our zone?" Isamu asked incredulously.

The older teen Naruto-grinned, and said, "Yup, half a mile due south."

"That's practically on our doorstep!" Nobutoshi said. "...You know, if we had a door, and if it was facing south instead of NW."

"Should we set the ambush at that one first, since it's closest?" Yokazeha asked.

Haru shook his head. "No, I think it'll be better if we trap it, and ambush the farther one. I have more seals that gather chakra, and I can set them to work remotely gathering thick chakra in their vicinity. I'll hide a bunch of them at our drop-zone, and set traps that will make anyone passing through the area use chakra to either evade or take out the trap. Since it's so close to our base I can regularly change out the seals – maybe twice a day or so – and look for patterns. If the same chakra signatures keep coming around, they are either lost or have a reason to be in that area and we can track them later."

Katashio smirked. "I like the way you think, kid."

Haru huffed. "I'm only four years younger than you."

"Still makes you a kid," Nobutoshi said with a smile.

"Hey!"

"Give it up, pipsqueak," Yokazeha said.

"You're barely more than a baby," Isamu said.

"Not you guys, too!"

* * *

The rest of the day was given over to setting up Haru's Surveillance, as the others took to calling it, and hammering out the details of their ambush strategy. It was decided that they would travel to the far drop-zone in the predawn hours of the third day, taking advantage of the time most people – even shinobi – would be sleeping to scout and set up their trap. The next two days would be spent at that location unless the rival team was caught before then; at which point the focus would shift to ambushing the other location. Hopefully they would be lucky enough not to have to go actively hunting, though if it got down to less than 48 hours they would.

Despite the barrier, the six decided it was better safe than sorry and set a watch schedule. They drew lots, and Haru ended up on first watch. That was okay, at least it was better than Nobutoshi's unenviable duty of waking everyone up after his shift – neither Yokazeha nor Isamu were morning people. It only took a few minutes of shuffling for everyone to settle down and fall to sleep.

Well, almost everyone.

"Hey, Haru-kun..." came a nearby whisper.

"What's up, Atsushi-san?" Haru asked. He wondered if the oldest teen was going to launch into another interrogation. If that was the case, Haru hoped the others would forgive him for waking them up to help bind and gag the fanboy.

"I'm sorry."

Haru blinked. In the darkness it was hard to see more than the outline of Atsushi's figure, sitting up with a bowed head. "About what?"

"Earlier," Atsushi said. "I got too excited asking about Naruto-sama, and I think I made you uncomfortable. So… Sorry."

"No worries," Haru said. "It wasn't fun, but there's no harm."

Atsushi shifted, but he made no move to lie down. "It's just… I was three when the Fourth Great War happened. I don't remember anything personally, but Otou-san and Okaa-san would tell me stories afterwards. Naruto-sama… he saved their lives, y'know. If... if he hadn't," Atsushi paused, drawing in a shuddering breath. "If he hadn't been there, I'd be an orphan, and I wouldn't have my little siblings; I'd have nobody.

"And then in the Academy, learning about history and everything… You know how every Great War has only been fifteen to twenty years apart depending on what you count: the beginnings to the beginnings, or the ends to the beginnings. Anyway, if the pattern held after the Fourth Great War, and we're twelve years after it ended, then… we'd be getting ready for the Fifth Great War ourselves. This Exam… it wouldn't be a fun, if challenging, competition; it would be a bloodbath. A time to size up the opposing side, and take them out if possible. Me and you… we wouldn't be sitting here together, just talking, we'd be trying to kill each other, and I think… one of us would have succeeded."

"Atsushi-san..." Haru started to say, but trailed off as he realized he had nothing to say. It was a terrifying thought: them pitted against each other as Genin for no other reason than which village they were aligned with. He would never know that Atsushi was a quirky, excitable 15-year-old, nor that he had two younger siblings, nor that he preferred to talk his way to a conclusion… instead he would know that he was a formidable opponent, and one that needed to be eliminated before he became a real threat to the Leaf. The boy shuddered at the sudden chill that had nothing to do with the howling wind outside their cave.

Atsushi continued, "But Naruto-sama stopped all that. He made friends with all the other Kage, and we have peace, real peace, between the Five Great Villages for the first time. I'm not naive: I know that there are still skirmishes with and between the smaller villages, and there's always nukenin to deal with." His tone of voice had Haru picturing the painted face screwed up in an unhappy grimace.

"But," the teen said, "compared to a time where even 'allies' were regarded with suspicion and everyone was trying to stab everyone else in the back, I think this is the closest we've ever been to real World Peace before. And, maybe this is childish, but even if this only lasts for ten years longer than the other 'peace times'… I think even then, Naruto-sama should be hailed as a hero, as the _greatest_ hero of all the nations. Because, even with just ten years, it means that an entire generation has been allowed to grow all the way up without war. The kids that were born after the Fourth War ended – like my imouto and otouto – will be grown up Chunin, or even Jonin, before they have to march onto a battlefield."

Minato and Hiruzen, and Hikari too, would be in their early to mid twenties, maybe even married, Haru thought. And Itachi and Kushina would be just behind them in their late teens. Little Obito would be graduated from the Academy and more than likely participating in the Chunin Exams himself. And I… I would be back from England for several years, maybe with a wife and kids of my own.

"That's why," Atsushi said, his voice interrupting Haru's musings. "Why I look up to Naruto-sama so much, why I try to be like him as much as possible, why I make sure to tell everyone what a hero he is. And if the day comes when we have to fight in the Fifth Great War, then – if it's in my life time – I want to do everything I can to bring about the same peace that Naruto-sama created, so that a new pattern is set where Great Wars are thirty or more years apart; and someday, in the future, there might be another Naruto-sama, who will change the world again, and make it so that the Great Wars are forty or even fifty years apart… If we keep doing that, can you imagine? Someday, far off, a person will be able to live their whole life, from birth to death, in peace time. That… That's something worth giving my life for, even if I won't get to see it myself."

Haru decided then and there that he was going to introduce Atsushi to Naruto. He might be from Stone, but he carried the Will of Fire in his heart. There was no telling how far this young man would go under the guidance of the Rokudaime Hokage.**1**

"For what it's worth, Atsushi-san, if you give your all for that, and others follow you as you've been following Naruto-jichan, then that day might not be as far away as you think. Not to mention that I'm sure that we'll have a lot longer than thirty years as long as Ji-chan stays friends with the other Kage. I'm going to be pushing for as long of a peace time as I can, too," Haru said. "Now get some sleep, you have next watch."

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

**1.** Yes, yes, I know that in the Naruto-Canon the Rokudaime (Sixth) is Kakashi and Naruto is the Nanadaime (Seventh), but c'mon... _Kakashi!_ I know that Tsunade the Alcoholic Gambler isn't much better than the Chronically Late Porn Reader... I guess I just really struggle to see Kakashi as Hokage, probably because I dropped the series before his inauguration. No offence to you guys who really love him as Hokage. Anyway, in my world Tsunade stayed Hokage for a few more years, and Naruto took over a couple years after the twins were born.

This chapter got away from me. My plan had been to start writing the action oriented sequences, but... have you ever had a scene that just writes itself? And you look back on it and go 'well that makes perfect sense, but I have no clue where it came from.' That happened to me, as soon as I began their planning meeting. I almost got into an argument with a fictional character because I wanted them to set up the ambush that night, but Haru said that it was smarter to wait a few days, and I said that it would require changing my outline... then I realized that Haru wasn't real, but I still couldn't make him take his words back so... yeah.

Plus there won't be anywhere else to fit in a real heart-to-heart between Haru and Atsushi, so might as well accept defeat and write another non-action chapter, then jump right into the action nest time.

**P.S.** What are y'all's thoughts on the OCs? I had initially wanted to avoid them, but now they are pretty entrenched in the story. I guess what I want to know is a) do they feel like real people? b) do they have too little/enough/too much screen time relative to Haru? c) should they become reoccurring characters in the broader story of the HP XO Naruto series I'm planning?


	18. Chapter 17: Winter Exam 2nd Test part 3

**Note:** Hi, Everyone! Contrary to what you all must think, I'm not actually dead. I did, however, contract a serious case of writer's block/burnout with the added complication of zero motivation. I promise the Hiatus is temporary. I'm challenging myself to write a few words every so often even if I don't feel like it, so the next chapter will eventually be done.

I hope you don't mind that I let my inner poet come out a little for the first half of this chapter. Suspense and tension are hard for me to write, so I end up falling back on poetic language to help me out.

* * *

December 2000

In the predawn hours of a winter night, when the shadows were darker than black, and the stars in the sky felt colder than the layers of ice and snow on the ground, when even the wind was silent and every heartbeat was too loud; that is when six fleeting wisps traveled towards the far off sunrise. Six shinobi, who left nary a disturbance in the too-barren landscape, moved as a single unit as if on the hunt, avoiding detection from those who would become their hunters. Finally the oldest stopped, raising a hand, and the others closed ranks around him.

"Is this the place?" Haru asked, looking with unease on the towering cliffs on either side, while a bit of brush dotted the valley between.

"Sort of," Atsushi said. "You see that ledge about halfway up? The one that can hold about four people? That's the dropzone. We'll set our ambush down here where people have to pass through in order to get to it."

"Could anyone get around us by climbing down from the top?" Isamu asked.

Atsushi shook his head. "The cliff above is the winter nesting ground of Mountain Blood Vipers – you'd have to be an idiot to cross a Blood Viper in the first place, and the Mountain variety is worse because they're active all year round and winter makes them grumpy; now get a whole nest of them and… yeah, no one is coming from that direction. Anyone who goes all the way up isn't coming down again."

"Good to know," Yokazeha said with a shudder.

Under Haru's guidance the trap was set. Wires carefully hidden, mesh nets and senbon launchers primed, and the field cleared of any obstacles that could be used by the opposing team.

Though not as comfortable in the rocks as in the trees, he and his team hid among the crags and boulders with a few pointers from Atsushi's team; they were the back up for when the right team came along. Atsushi, meanwhile, crouched on the drop-zone ledge; he would be their leader and signal every action for the rest of them. Katashio and Nobutoshi used Doton to seemingly melt into the surrounding landscape; they would use their sudden reappearance to unnerve their targets and make said targets believe they were more skilled and coordinated than they actually were.

The edge of the sun had just touched the horizon when the valley appeared to breathe once and settle into the dormant state they had found it in. Nothing moved, nothing made a noise, and six pairs of watchful eyes remained perfectly concealed. As dawn heralded a new day, mice and rats scurried under the brush, looking for a sparse meal. A circling hawk screamed a warning to any who would take its prey, but that didn't stop a coyote from nabbing a lone rat and scampering away with its prize. The hawk snatched a field mouse and flew off, and the beat of wings eventually faded – the air was still once more.

"-is is the place, trust me," a voice sounded, steadily getting closer.

"You said that at the last two areas we checked. Sorry if I don't put much faith in your 'near perfect directionabilities',**1**" replied someone else.

"Hey! My directionabilities weren't wrong. I just misinterpreted the clues. But this place! This is it, there's no doubt," the first said. A teenager, roughly 16, came into view; he wore standard shinobi-issue clothes with lengths of thin, but sturdy, chain wrapped around his arms and torso.

"We will be the judge of that," a third voice said, belonging to a boy of about the same age decked out in a sleeveless fur coat – seals were tattooed on both his forearms.

"Let's just get this over with so we can finally go hunting," the lone girl of the group said. She was casually flipping a kunai in one hand while the other tugged at a few errant strands of hair that strayed from her high ponytail.

All three wore hitaiate from Stone.

They steadily made their way into the valley, closing in on the ledge. Then Tattoos called, "Hold it!" He knelt and studied a barely visible glimmer in the air, six inches off the ground. "Tripwire," he spat. "Someone was here before us."

"And still are!" Atsushi called out, manually setting off their trap. Mesh netting sprang from the ground, cutting off both ends of the valley. The only noticeable way out was by scaling the cliffs – or burrowing under, but there was risk in not knowing if any mines had been planted.

The fifteen year old stood from his crouched position, one hand flashing through a variety of signs. As he jumped down the two forms of Katashio and Nobutoshi rose from the ground; the hodgepodge team now surrounded the three older teens.

"You really want to fight us, kid?" the kunoichi asked. She held two kunai in ice-pick formation, ready to guard or attack.

"We're all from Stone," Atsushi said. "I'd rather not fight if we don't have to. Show us the scroll you have, and we'll show the one we have. If they don't match, we all go about our merry ways."

Tattoos huffed a shallow chuckle. "You got guts, kid. Fine, no harm in playing your game; but you show your scroll first."

Atsushi very slowly reached into his satchel and pulled out the red-silver scroll, holding it securely so that the color was clearly seen. "Now show me yours, I can't trust just your words."

Tattoos grinned and bit his thumb, running the blood along one of the seals on his left arm. In a small puff of smoke a scroll appeared – a scroll colored yellow and blue!

"There, you see? Now you can stop acting like a kitten with its tail puffed up," the first boy said.

"You're right," Atsushi said, his hand returning to his satchel a little too casually. "Attack!" Six shadows blurred into action.

* * *

Atsushi flung a kunai at Tattoos and instantly started hand signs. The older teenager ducked the throw easily, but had to hastily jump away from the hail of senbon that followed the kunai hitting their trigger.

Tattoos growled. He raised his bloody thumb to his arm. What he was going to activate wasn't to be found out as he leaped away from the stream of fire Atsushi breathed at him. He landed among the littering of senbon from only seconds earlier. His consciousness lasted only a moment longer – long enough to privately admit he had underestimated his opponent – before it was stolen away by a massive surge of lightening from the senbon, courtesy of Haru.

The two team leaders checked over the body – making sure he was alive, unconscious, relieved of his scroll, and securely bound – before turning to each other with matching grins.

"That," Haru said, "was awesome!"

* * *

Nobutoshi launched himself forwards, aiming for the kunoichi. She spun to meet him head on, and he bent backwards to avoid a strike that would have cut his head off. Following his downward momentum he landed on his hands and lashed out with his feet. She jumped cleanly over the first leg-sweep, but couldn't dodge the second spin that caught her ankles on her way down.

She landed on her hands, springing into a nearby rock and using it to propel herself back towards him like a missile. He couldn't dodge so he crossed his arms to block, the hit sending him skidding backwards a dozen feet.

Dust that had been kicked up in the brief scuffle slowly settled again as the combatants prepared to face off a second time.

Swift as lightening, the kunoichi sprang at the figure that had finally become visible. Slash, he ducked. Jab, he dodged. Kick, he jumped back. She followed up, pressing her advantage. She would not let him get a chance to counter attack.

Jab. She dropped like a rock, unconscious.

"Ouch, she's going to feel that in the morning," said Nobutoshi, popping his head out from the ground. He pulled the girl under up to her neck before crawling onto the surface. "Gotta love the Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu.**2** By the way, what did you do to her?"

Isamu shrugged. "I jabbed her nerve cluster-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know that," Nobutoshi said. "I mean what was she fighting when I went underground?"

"You. Or rather, she thought she was fighting you," Isamu said.

"Huh… did you make me a totally kick-butt Jonin?"

"I made you a total wimp who wouldn't throw a punch."

"Hey!"

* * *

Katashio didn't hesitate to rush the teenager coiled with chains, trusting his companions to follow Atsushi's signals on who was assigned to whom. He knew exactly why this boy was assigned to him, and he vowed not to fail.

Two kunai were flung on either side of his opponent, who was still standing in a moment of shock – rookie mistake – and Katashio willed the metal to _bend_. He felt the familiar pull on his chakra coils, felt the simultaneous strain and release of commanding an element that was not an Element. It was easier to control metal that was already attuned to his chakra, and the pair of kunai easily shifted in both form and trajectory.

"Aw, what! Ew!" Chains yelled a liquid, but not molten, metal splashed onto his body from both sides. His disgust turned to panic as what used to be kunai started to blend with the metal on his body.

"Tetsu-"

"Yeah, Right!"

Katashio's concentration broke as a barb-tipped chain shot out towards him at blinding speed. He rolled away just in time, but when he looked back up at his opponent, Chains was already sprinting up the cliff to get some distance. Had he been fighting alone, that might have been the end of it – his range was limited, and made worse with a moving object.

But he wasn't alone.

Hidden in the crags of the cliff face, with orders to prevent runners and aid Katashio, Yokazeha sprang into action. She appeared above Chains, her imposing kodachi already pulled back high over her right shoulder.

Her clan was small but highly respected due to one particular ability. It was not their formidable kenjutsu, nor their repertoire of Fuuton Jutsu that brought them fame. Rather it was their creation and knowledge of adapted hand signs, which allowed them to use ninjutsu in tandem with whatever weapon they were wielding – oftentimes the weapons themselves being mediums between two hands that were not touching, as in the case of her twin sai.

Having mentally and physically prepared for this beforehand, Yokazeha grinned as her fingers danced along the grip of her blade without slacking. They formed easily into patterns she had been drilled on since her childhood with a bokken;**3** her chakra molded without protest into one of the first and simplest of ninjutsu she had learned.

"Fuuton: Tamaranai Obi,**4**" she said, swinging her kodachi in a wide arc across her body. This particular jutsu could be adjusted to be a thin cutting line or a massive wall of moving air. In this instance Yokazeha made it a moderate wave, too large to dodge, too small to effect the other battles.

The kunoichi smirked and Chains' eyes widened in horror as the overwhelming air pressure bared down on him, driving him back into the earth. To his credit, he managed to stick the landing; however, he could do nothing but stay on his knees under the weight of the wind for about ten seconds.

It was ten seconds too long.

"Testuton: Sokubaku.**5**" Solid metal flowed into action. Slowly chains melted and fused into a solid casing. By the time the wind abated Chains was securely bound in a wide iron band stretching from shoulders to hips.

"Oi, oi! We don't even have your scroll! What happened to not wanting to fight? Get this off me!"

"Shut up," Yokazeha said as she landed nearby. One kick later, and Chains was out like a light. "Your kekkei genkai is impressive," she said to Katashio.

He nodded. "Thanks."

"But… you seemed to struggle with it." The kunoichi paused, watching his reaction. When he stayed motionless with his face turned away she continued, "I only noticed because I struggle with my clan techniques as well. They are designed for Fuuton, but my naturally affinity is Earth. It is… difficult to live up to their expectations while trying to find out my own strengths."

Katashio was silent for a few moments, when he finally spoke it was barely above a whisper. "We were never a large clan. Our kekkei genkai only developed about five generations ago, so we were still small when the Fourth Great War happened. My mother – who I inherited it from – fell in battle along with my grandparents and several cousins, aunts, and uncles; I was two at the time. The only ones left who are able to teach me are my maternal uncle – who is always away from the village on missions – and my maternal great-grandmother – whose mind is not what it once was. My father tries, but he was married into the clan. All he can really contribute is an outside perspective as I try to learn the techniques in the Clan Secret Scrolls."

"You were able to do… _that_… without proper training?" Yokazeha asked, waving a hand over the boy's handiwork.

Katashio flushed a little. "It isn't all that impressive compared to what my grandfather could do: he once incapacitated a squad of shinobi with their own weapons from a hundred yards away."

"You will too, someday," Yokazeha said. "If you continue to work as hard as you have been, then it is only a matter of time."

The Stone shinobi finally turned to her, and he smiled. "Thank you, Yokazeha-san."

She returned the smile. "You are welcome, Katashio-san."

* * *

"I can't believe we lucked into catching the right team on the first try," Haru said as he handed the pilfered prize over to Isamu. The genjutsu user carefully stashed it with its twin, hiding both under an illusion.

Nobutoshi laughed. "At this rate we'll be able to get your scroll tomorrow and skedaddle three days early."

Katashio shook his head. "You cannot expect a mission to be perfect from start to finish."

"Don't be such a pessimist," Isamu said. "Especially since you guys are set with your scrolls."

"It's called being a 'realist'," Yokazeha said. "It is not realistic to believe things will go as smoothly next time as it did this time."

"Anyway, let's head back to base and begin the second half of our mission," Atsushi said. Everyone nodded, and in another moment the valley was empty save for a lone mouse that bravely skittered out of its hiding place.

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

**1.** Not a real word, but it sounds like something that someone would make up and use as a verbal tic. My family has a ton of similarly made up words that we use on a semi-regular basis.

**2.** Literally translates to "Double Suicide Decapitation Technique"; the English dub changed it to the more kid-friendly "Headhunter Jutsu". This is the jutsu that Kakashi used on Sasuke during the Bell Test.

**3.** A bokken is a wooden sword typically used for training.

**4.** Tamaranai means "intolerable, unbearable, unendurable, irresistible, tremendous, out of this world", and would probably be translated as "overwhelming" or "oppressing" in an English dub. Obi, meanwhile, refers to a cloth belt or sash that is worn around the waist, usually to keep a kimono closed (that is, when it isn't referring to best-boy Obi from Akagami no Shirayuki-hime).

**5.** Tetsuton means "Iron Release" and Sokubaku means "restraint, restriction, fetters, yoke, shackles"; though it is usually in reference to rope, I thought it was fitting here.

Yes the fights were short. I stand by that. Not only is that more realistic - with the point of an ambush being to incapacitate all the targets as quickly as possible - but they are all ninja. Ninja strike hard, fast, and get away; of course, cinematic production requires drawn out sequences, but this isn't cinema so there ;p


End file.
